


Uncle Bucky's (reluctant) Babysitting Service

by AtLoLevad



Series: Liam'verse [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-23
Updated: 2014-07-14
Packaged: 2018-01-26 05:53:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 34,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1677170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AtLoLevad/pseuds/AtLoLevad
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Steve and his wife have to suddenly go out of town, Uncle Bucky is the first choice to watch Liam. Watch as it all unfolds...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hi guys….I have more Captain America fic for ya! I decided to split this one into a multi-chap, mostly because I had this first part written and it felt like a good place to stop. I'll try and get the second chapter up by tomorrow, but no promises =)

Also, reviews will probably make me write faster *hint,hint*

"I'm sorry to ask," Kit sighed, dropping her suitcase to the floor, "It's just…I didn't want to bring him with us and obviously we can't leave him alone. And we figured…his uncle might…I'm sorry."

Her words broke off into tears and she clamped a hand over her mouth, muffling sobs before turning and running back into her and Steve's bedroom.

Bucky turned a concerned gaze to Steve who shook his head.

"Sorry, she's…not handling it well. She and her aunt were very close," Steve explained, hefting the two suitcases into his hands.

"I think I understand. I just don't see why you wanted me to watch Liam," Bucky shrugged, taking one of the suitcases from Steve's hand.

"Thanks, follow me to the car?" Steve hit the button for the elevator, "Bruce and Pep are the only one's around right now, actually. Thor's back in Asgard for the rest of the month, Stark, Barton and Rhodey are…I think out west. Some kind of threat, I wasn't actually listening. Nat is with Maria, trying to sort out some security protocols. Which leaves you. "

Steve paused, and then shook his head, "Not that you were our last option. Just explaining why we did ask you."

Bucky smiled easily, glad that the action was happening more often.

"I don't care when you asked me. Does he know that you two are heading out?" he tossed the suitcase into the open trunk.

Steve sighed heavily, "No. Kit…doesn't want to have to explain death to our four-year-old. And she just got the call a couple of hours ago."

Bucky narrowed his eyes, "Her aunt just died?"

Steve nodded, "Yes. The funeral is on Saturday, but Kit wanted to head out and be with her family."

"Saturday?" Bucky repeated, "But today's Wednesday."

"I know. Again, we're really sorry about this. I don't want to leave Liam, but I also don't want to send Kit on her own. You saw her up there," Steve jerked his thumb behind him to point at the Tower.

"I saw her," Bucky frowned, "I've never spent so much time with the kid, one-on-one."

"You'll be fine. He loves hanging out with you. Maria, Nat and Pepper are all just a phone call away, if you really need them," Steve slammed the trunk closed and leaned against it, "I've got faith in you, Buck."

"That makes one of us," Bucky muttered, following Steve back into the Tower.

Kit wiped at her eyes, "Thank you, Bucky. Really. We'll call when we get to my parents' house. It'll probably be late. Um, Liam should be out for the night. But he's been having nightmares lately, all thanks to his wonderful Uncles. I swear, who lets a four-year-old watch Hitchcock?"

She shook her head, "Clint and those damn birds. I can't even take hi to the park without him having a meltdown over a pigeon."

Steve snorted slightly, schooling his features into a neutral expression when Kit rounded on him.

"You won't think it's funny when it happens to you, Rogers," she sighed, shouldering her handbag.

"It has happened to me," Steve countered, "Remember the six months he was simultaneously in love with and terrified of The Hunchback of Notre Dame? He wanted Daddy to stay with him."

Kit's mouth turned up in a small smile, "Right. Of course. And Daddy complained every night about the kicking."

Steve laughed, and turned to Bucky, "The kid's built like I was, scrawny, but damn he's got a good hit."

Bucky nodded, "I remember. Even as a little kid he was a good kicker."

"He's also in a punching phase," Kit frowned, "I think it's a byproduct of sitting in the room while Natasha and Clint spar. If he hits you, just like, tell him no and that it's bad."

Bucky nodded, listening carefully as Kit continued to tell him things she deemed necessary for him to know about Liam.

Finally, Steve gripped his wife's elbow, "Kit, Buck can handle this. Come on, we should be on out way."

Kit sagged into Steve's grip, "I'm just nervous."

"Nothing to worry about, Katherine," Bucky smiled, reminding Steve of the charming smile he used to use on women back in the day, "I think I can handle it."

She nodded, "I still don't understand why you insist on calling me Katherine. Even Steve gave up on the properness."

Bucky shrugged, "Give me some time, maybe?"

Kit nodded, "Okay. Um, he usually has blueberry pancakes on Thursday mornings…but I don't want you to have to…."

"Even soldiers know how to cook," Bucky laughed, "I can figure out pancakes."

Kit launched herself forward and hugged her husband's best friend, "Thank you. I really don't know….I'm so grateful to have all of you around."

Bucky stiffened under Kit's hug and Steve noticed.

"Kit, doll, come on. We should head out," he gently tugged her arms from around Bucky's shoulders and pulled her close to his side.

"Okay," she sniffed, wiping her hand under her nose, "Tell Liam we'll be back soon and that we love him."

Bucky nodded, clapping Steve on the back as he walked them to the elevator.

As soon as the doors shut, Bucky blew out a breath of air. He loved Katherine, but even almost six years after his deprogramming he still found it hard to be around people, and she was a person that liked to give hugs and was loud and excited all the time.

Sometimes she gave Bucky a headache.

Bucky locked the door and headed back into the living room to throw himself onto the couch.

He still had several hours before Liam would wake up in the morning. He'd need all the sleep he could get.

The shrill ringing of a phone jolted Bucky awake.

"Damn," he cursed, climbing off the couch and moving quietly to lift the phone off of its receiver.

"Barnes," a habit he'd been unable to break, answering the phone like a soldier.

"Buck?" Steve whispered, "We're in New Haven. Liam asleep?"

Bucky looked at the clock over the stove. Just after 1 in the morning.

"Haven't heard him. I assume he's out."

"Can you check on him, jerk?"

Bucky can hear the laugh in Steve's voice.

"Yeah, let me look."

Quietly, Bucky moved down the hall and cracked open the door to Liam's room. It was dark, but Bucky could see the lump in the middle of the bed that meant Liam was curled up under his blankets.

"He's good," Bucky said quietly into the phone.

Miles away, Steve sighed, "Good. Kit fell asleep on the drive up, so I'm going to get her in the house. She may want to call and talk to him in the morning."

Bucky shrugged, "Your kid. Don't have to ask me."

Steve snorted a laugh, "Wasn't asking, jerk. Warning. Kit'll talk for hours on the phone."

"Thanks for the heads up, punk," Bucky replied, shaking his head.

"The kid usually gets up by 7, so be prepared," Steve muttered, grunting a little as he lifted Kit into his arms.

"Don't worry about me, punk. Keep that dame of yours calm," Bucky poured himself a glass of water and leaned against the counter.

"Thanks," Steve grunted, "I'm going to go now. We'll try and call in a few hours."

Bucky grunted a good-bye and attempted to hang the phone back on its receiver. It took three tries, but no one would have to know.

Bucky threw himself over the back of the couch, resting his head on the arm. It was still early, but he wasn't tired anymore. Years of being cryogenically frozen and then brainwashed had really gotten rid of any need or desire to sleep.

Most nights Bucky ended up staring at the wall or attempting to slog through the various 'necessary to your well-being' films, TV shows and novels recommended by the other Avengers.

The quality of the recommendations really varied as Bucky learned by watching Sharknado as insisted upon by Clint.

Bucky wasn't a huge fan of most TV shows or films.

He did like Hogan's Heroes though.

It had enough of the army to remind Bucky of the good old days, and enough comedy to keep his mind from going to a dark place.

So, now that he had a little over five hours before Liam woke up, he stuck his hand in between the couch cushions and searched for the remote.

Once he found it, Bucky stared at the buttons for a little bit, trying to remember the right combination that would turn the TV on and pull up the specially recorded Hogan's Heroes episodes.

Settling back and letting his mind go blank, Bucky watched the adventures of Hogan and his friends.


	2. Chapter 2

Bucky cracked one eye open, surprised to find that he had fallen back asleep.

That usually never happened. Slowly, stretching out his back, Bucky stood up from the couch an shut the TV off, cutting Hogan off mid-laugh.

Yawning slightly, he headed into the kitchen to try and start on a batch of pancakes.

Since it was already 6:30, Bucky figured Liam would be up soon. If he was anything like Steve, the kid would be wide-awake and ready to start the day at 7 on the dot.

Bucky laughed a little to himself when he thought back to his teenage years. The early wake-up call had always been a point of contention between himself and Steve.

Bucky used to like his sleep. Not so much anymore. It was easier to block out the bad when you were awake.

He dropped a metal bowl to the counter with a louder bang than he intended.

Bucky paused for a second, but when he didn't hear any noise coming from Liam's room, he moved on, searching the fridge for the ingredients he could remember when into pancakes.

He got as far as flour, eggs and blueberries before his memory craped out on him.

"Katherine's got to have a recipe book around here somewhere," Bucky muttered, opening and closing cabinets.

After a ten minute search turned up nothing, Bucky remembered that stark had programmed his computer butler to work anywhere in the Tower.

So, feeling very stupid, Bucky muttered, "JARVIS?"

A slight crackle and then the pleasant British voice came from nowhere and everywhere, "Yes, Sargent Barnes?"

Bucky coughed at the use of his old rank. Somehow he didn't think that the US Army would want him known as a Sargent.

"Uh," he addressed JARVIS, "Could you remind me what the ingredients are for blueberry pancakes?"

"Certainly, sir," JARVIS announced, and Bucky was pretty sure he heard the hint of a laugh.

Shaking his head (After all the incredible things he'd seen since rejoining his best friend, Stark's talking butler always amused and confused him.), Bucky pulled the ingredients out as JARVIS listed them.

"Thank you, JARVIS," Bucky said, once he had all the ingredients laid out on the counter.

"My pleasure, sir. Do not hesitate to call if you need any more assistance," JARVIS waited for Bucky's acknowledgement and then disappeared, leaving the apartment strangely silent.

"Weird," Bucky frowned, ripping open packages and pouring flour into a bowl.

Here went nothing.

Bucky was so focused on measuring and mixing his pancake batter, he didn't hear Liam get up until the boy was padding down the hallway.

"Mommy," his voice was getting louder as he came closer to the kitchen, "I think that maybe there's a pigeon in my—"

His voice broke off as he took in the sight of his uncle cooking.

Bucky looked up and grinned at the kid, "Hey, pal. Sleep good?"

Liam let out a little whoop and ran full tilt at Bucky, shouting, "UNCLE BUCKY! I didn't know you were gonna be here!"

He was a few feet from the kitchen counter when he tripped over his too-long pajama bottoms.

Bucky was next to him in a second, even though Liam had already clambered back to his feet.

"You alright?" Bucky wrapped his hand –his real hand- around his de facto nephew's wrist.

Liam's eyes were bright, "Yeah, Uncle Bucky! I'm fine. I fall all the time. Daddy says I'm jus' a little klu-klu-klusty?"

Bucky laughed out loud, "Yeah, I think your Dad's right. I'll tell ya something though."

Liam trailed his uncle into the kitchen, puppy dog eyes in full effect, "What?"

"Your dad used to be the same way. Always tripping and getting into things he shouldn't have," Bucky shrugged, a small smile on his face.

Liam's eyes were wide, "But, but Daddy's….he's Daddy."

Liam's voice was reverent, and a blind person could have seen that the boy idolized his father.

"Yeah, but your dad wasn't always your dad. A long time ago he was just a kid," Bucky kept talking even as he turned back to the pancake batter.

"Like me?" Liam stretched his skinny little arms and grabbed onto the counter, scrambling up onto the barstool.

Bucky smiled, "Exactly like you, kid."

Liam grinned, incredibly pleased, and kicked his feet against the front of the bar, "I'm gonna grow up to be Daddy someday. And I'm gonna fight the bad guys!"

He threw his fist into the air so vehemently, his body almost toppled to the floor.

"Yeah?" Bucky asked, "I can see you doin' that."

Liam leaned across the counter to grab a stray blueberry, "Uncle Bucky?"

"Yeah?" Bucky scooped a spoonful of batter onto the skillet, grinning when it made a satisfying sizzling sound.

"You got white stuff in your hair. And on your face," Liam giggled.

Bucky brushed at his hair, and sure enough a dusting of flour fell out.

"Hey," he mock-teased the still giggling kid, "They don't teach ya how to be clean in the army."

"Your hair is so so so white! You look…as old as my grampa!" Liam shrieked, giggling like a mad man.

"If only you knew, kid. If only you knew," Bucky muttered, a wry smirk on his face.

He turned to catch a glimpse of himself in the glass of the oven. The flour wasn't covering his head; Liam had been exaggerating. But, there was enough white powder to make Bucky look like he had salt-and-pepper hair.

Huh, not so bad.

"Uncle Buckyyyyy…." Liam whined, "You're makin' my cakes into fire!"

Bucky spun on his heel, and sure enough, the pancakes on the skillet were smoking. Not on fire, but not edible.

"Damn," Bucky cursed before he could catch himself.

Liam grinned like that cat that ate the canary, "You said a bad word! Damn!"

Bucky frowned, "That's not something you should be saying, kid."

Liam thought for a minute, and then, "Damn!"

Bucky groaned, "Kid, your Dad's gonna kill me."

Liam clambered up onto the counter and crossed his legs, "I won't tell mommy and daddy if you let me have ice cream."

Bucky grunted, trying not to let his smile break through, "You're taking lessons from Natasha, aren't you?"

Liam shrugged, "Dunno."

Bucky dropped more batter onto the skillet, planning on watching them carefully this time.

He fiddled with the stove's knob while he thought of something.

"You know, I'd get really upset if you didn't try my pancakes. But maybe we can go out for ice cream after lunch?"

Liam tapped his index finger to his lip, "I don't want you to be sad. So I think that maybe I can fit in a little tiny pancake," he held his index and middle fingers half an inch apart, "Like maybe this big. 'Cause I wanna have lotsa room for ice cream!"

Bucky slid two regular sized pancakes onto a plate and dropped the plate into Liam's lap, "Eat those, kid. We'll talk about the ice cream."

Liam reached for the maple syrup and poured a very generous amount onto his pancakes before digging in, pulling the warm dough apart with his hands.

Bucky watched, fascinated, as the kid proceeded to smear syrup and butter all over his face. The blueberries stained his lips and the skin around his mouth.

"Good?" Bucky asked, stuffing a forkful of pancake into his own mouth.

"Mmhmm," Liam nodded, his mouth full, "'oo 'ake th' bsht pncashe evr! Bttr than Mmmy."

Little pieces of pancake flew out of Liam's mouth as he talked, but Bucky got the gist of what he had been saying.

"Thanks, pal. Good compliment comin' from you," Bucky turned to the refrigerator, "Want some milk?"

Liam swallowed the wad of food in his cheek, nodding, "Can I have chocolate?"

"I don't see why not," Bucky emerged with a carton of chocolate milk, and grabbed two glasses from the cabinet above the sink.

Once he set them on the counter, he noticed that they were both branded with the likeness of Iron Man.

One eyebrow raised, Bucky asked, "These a gift from Tony?"

Liam nodded, happily taking the proffered glass of milk, "Uncle Tony said it was so we wouldn't even have to miss him. Even when he's not in the 'partment, Iron Man is."

Bucky snorted into his milk. Leave it up to Stark to outfit other people's homes with Iron Man memorabilia.

Liam dropped the plate to the counter, "I'm done! Let's go get ice cream!"

"Why don't you change? OR do you want everyone to see your dinosaur pajamas?" Bucky asked, draining the last of his milk.

Liam moved to stand up on the counter, "I want EVERYONE to see my dinosaurs! I'm the ruler of the dinosaurs."

Bucky snorted again, lifting Liam under the armpits and putting him down on the floor, "Yeah, course you are. Dinosaur rulers wear jeans though."

"Really?" Liam regarded his uncle with a skeptical look.

Bucky nodded, "Yeah, really. They even brush their teeth."

Liam nodded, accepting his uncle's word as truth, and ran off down the hallway, whooping and hollering.

"That was well handled, Sargent," JARVIS' voice spoke suddenly, causing Bucky to jump.

"Uh, thanks," Bucky muttered, smiling a little to himself.

"Might I suggest cleaning up while young Mister Rogers is occupied? It will be easier when he's not underfoot."

"Yeah, uh, thanks JARVIS," Bucky started putting the dishes in the sink and throwing out the leftover batter.

He was wiping down the counter when Liam came back into the room.

"Hey, Uncle Bucky?"

Bucky looked up and smothered a laugh when he saw how Liam was dressed. The kid's jeans were on backwards, he had only one sock on, and his shirt was inside out and stuck on his head.

"Yeah?" Bucky was reluctant to help the kid out since Steve had mentioned that Liam was going through an independent stage a few weeks back.

"I jus' though of somethin' and I wanna know why?" Liam's voice was muffled as he tugged the red shirt down over his head.

His forehead creasing in confusion, Bucky asked, "Why what?"

"Why aren't Mommy and Daddy here?" he frowned, "Mommy always makes me cakes on Thorsday and how come you made 'em today? And I never got Daddy to check on the pigeon in my room and I think it mighta got friends."

"Uh…first of all, it's Thursday. Not Thorsday," Bucky started with the easiest thing to explain.

Liam shook his head, "No it's not. Uncle Thor said it was Thorsday!"

He stamped his foot on the ground and Bucky held up his hands, "Hey, okay, fine. Thorsday. Whatever."

"Good," Liam pouted, pulling his other sock from the pocket of his jeans and dropping to the floor.

"Where's Mommy and Daddy?" he asked, all of his attention focused on getting his foot into the sock.

The phone ringing saved Bucky from having to answer.

"Caller ID recognized Captain Rogers and Mrs. Rogers," JARVIS announced.

Bucky nodded, "Can you put it on speaker?"

"Certainly," JARVIS replied.

And then Steve's voice came through, "Buck? You there?"

"DADDY!" Liam exclaimed, jumping up from the floor and bouncing from foot to foot, "JARVIS said your name and then you talkeded."

Steve chuckled, "Yeah, pal. I did. Did you sleep well?"

Liam was looking all around the room, trying to find the source of his father's voice, "Kinda. I think there might be lotsa pigeons in my room and you weren't even here to look for them. So now they might be getting more and then I'm not ever gonna be able to go in there."

Bucky could tell that Steve was holding back laughter when he said, "I'm sure there's no pigeons in your room, but Uncle Bucky can check for you. And then I'll check double when I come home, okay?"

"Okay," Liam muttered, and then brightened, "Hey! Uncle Bucky maded my 'cakes this morning. They were even betterer than Mommy's! But don't tell her. She might get sad like Uncle Bucky did when I almost didn't eat."

"I won't tell Mommy. But did you eat your pancakes? We don't want Uncle Bucky sad, do we?" Steve took a gulp form his mug of coffee, smiling as he listened to his son recount the morning so far.

"Nope, I had two huuuuuggeeeeee pancakes!" Liam bounced around.

"Huuuugggeee pancakes, huh?" Steve laughed, "That should keep you full for all the fun that you and Uncle Bucky are going to have."

"Yep, me and Uncle Bucky are gonna do lotsa stuff," Liam jumped up and down on the couch, "Where's Mommy? How come you aren't here?"

Bucky dropped to the couch, an arm out to catch Liam if he fell. The long pause that Steve was taking told Bucky that he and Katherine hadn't exactly figured out what to tell Liam.

"Well, buddy, Mommy's still sleeping," Steve started, "She was up really late last night, you know, like when your tummy hurts and you don't want to sleep? And then the next morning all you want to do is sleep?"

"Yeah, is Mommy sick?" Liam bounced once more and then took a dive onto Bucky's lap.

"Oof," Bucky grunted, clamping his left arm around Liam's waist to keep him in place.

"No, Mommy's not sick," Steve hedged, "She's just very tired. We'll be home on Sunday morning, early enough to take you to church and for breakfast."

"Breakfast at the dinner!" Liam grinned, and Bucky didn't have the heart to correct him.

Steve laughed, "Yeah, pal. Can you be a good boy for Uncle Bucky until then?"

Liam looked at his uncle. Bucky gave him a crooked grin.

"Whattaya say, pal?"

"Yeah! I can be the bestest boy for Uncle Bucky! And I bet he'd even scare off the pigeons as good as you, Daddy!"

"I'll bet you're right, Liam. Uncle Bucky's pretty scary," Steve teased.

"Only to pigeons, Daddy. And bad guys! Not to me," Liam said, very seriously.

"Right," Steve said, sounding very proud of his son, "I've gotta go, pal. But I'll make sure Mommy calls you in a little bit, okay?"

"Yeah, I wanna tell her all about the pigeons in my room," he wiggled off of Bucky's lap and said, "Bye, Daddy! I love you," before running off into his room.

"What the hell is this kid's thing with pigeons?" Bucky asked as soon as Liam was out of earshot.

Steve sighed, "No clue. He's terrified of them when he sees them on the street, but yeah, we have no idea. Probably a phase. How was he this morning?"

"Fine," Bucky leaned back against the couch, "Ate his pancakes, laughed at the flour in my hair, brushed his teeth, dressed himself. Oh yeah, how do I get his clothes on the right way without insulting him?"

"Usually, I get dressed in front of him and as soon as he sees how my clothes are he changes his," Steve said, "He'll usually go down for a nap around 1 or 2, so just make sure whatever you do you're back to the Tower by then."

"Got it," Bucky nodded, "Anything else?"

"Nah, I think that's it. It's really up to the both of you what you do the next three days. He'll go with the flow, but if he gets an idea in his head, it'll be hard to convince him otherwise."

Steve broke off and covered the mouthpiece from the shuffling that Bucky heard. It sounded like he was talking to someone else on his end.

"Hey, Buck? I gotta go. Kit's up…and not in a good mood. We'll call and check in later, okay?"

"Sure," Bucky said, "I have that cell phone Stark gave me, so call there If we're out."

"Got it," Steve paused, "Thanks again."

"I've got your back, punk," Bucky laughed letting JARVIS hang up the line.

"Uncle Bucky? Can you come and look for pigeons?" Liam called out.

Bucky stood up from the couch and called back, "Coming, pal!"

How did he go from fighting Nazis to becoming a brainwashed HYDRA assassin to scaring imaginary pigeons from a four-year-old's bedroom?

And why was he so happy about it?

He headed down the hallway with a smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay, so I love writing this story. Like a lot. I am, however, still trying to figure out how to write Bucky and Steve, to an extent. So I'd love, love, love constructive criticism. I'm also going to put out a request for anyone to create a cover for this story…if you would be so kind as to create one, you can leave it in my Tumblr submission (inbelikovwetrust). You can also leave me prompts there and maybe ideas of where you'd like to see Liam and Bucky head out on their three day bonding time =)
> 
> Please leave a review….they really make my day (and write faster!)


	3. Chapter 3

Pulling a long sleeved shirt over his head, Bucky was glad that it was still cool enough for them.

He was used to the metal arm, and so were most other people. But it was the select few that stared that made him uneasy.

Stark had offered to create a top of the line, full mobility with a few extra perks arm that looked and felt real. He had almost accepted the offer, but he was -heh, attached to the metal arm.

Having two "real" arms after so long with one metal one would have been too weird.

"You ready to go, pal?" Bucky called from the bathroom.

He stuck his head around the doorway and watched Liam watch TV.

He was laying on his stomach, chin resting on his hands and socked feet kicking in the air.

Bucky moved to lean against the wall; Liam still hadn't moved.

Bucky laughed to himself. The kid was totally captivated by the cartoon. His mouth was even hanging open.

"Liam? Pal?" Bucky sat on the edge of the bed and nudged Liam in the side.

The four-year-old jolted, "Uncle Bucky, you scareded me."

"Sorry, kid. But I though you wanted to go on an adventure?"

"I do!" Liam bounced to his knees and have Bucky a once over, "Hey! Your shirt looks different from mine! How come?"

Bucky laughed, Steve's advice hadn't exactly worked. Liam had watched, completely fascinated, while he shaved, but when he started to get dressed, the kid ran off in favor of a brightly colored TV show.

"How about we grab you a shirt that looks like mine?" Bucky tossed Liam over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and tickled his sides while carrying him down the hall.

Liam shrieked with laugher, feet kicking into Bucky's chest.

Bucky tossed the boy, gently, onto his racecar bed, ticking his sides once more for good measure.

Liam sat up on the bed, breathing hard from laughing.

"Can I have a shirt like you now?" he asked, wiggling his body close to Bucky's and looping an arm around Bucky's neck, dangling.

"Sure, let's look for one," Bucky stood up, Liam giggling like a crazy person as he hung from Bucky's neck.

"Daddy lets my hand from him all the time," Liam informed him, very seriously, "Only I can't hang on Mommy like this cause she's not super strong like you and Daddy."

"Yeah, we don't want to hurt your mom, right?" Bucky knelt to the ground in front of Liam's dresser, detaching Liam's hands from around his neck.

"Right, cause she's a girl," Liam moved to pull open one of the drawers, but Bucky stopped him.

"Hey, that's not quite right, kid. Girls can be just as tough as men. Like your Aunt Natasha, right?"

"Yeah," Liam nodded, dropping into a fighting stance, one he undoubtedly learned from Natasha, "Aunt Nat is tougher than EVERYBODY!"

Bucky nodded, and then paused. Was he really about to try and teach Liam that violence against anyone that didn't deserve it, man or woman, was wrong? Was he the right person to explain that?

Especially given his history.

Bucky shook his head, now wasn't the time for that conversation.

"This one matches you!" Liam shouted, brandishing a black shirt. Bucky took it and unfolded the fabric.

The words "T-Rex hates pushups" were sandwiching a white outline of a T-Rex attempting to do a pushup with a thought bubble saying "Not fair" came from its head.

Bucky chuckled, "Yeah, this is a good shirt. Let me help."

Liam tossed his red t-shirt into a corner and held his arms above his head so Bucky could pull the dinosaur shirt on.

"I wanna change my shoes too," he kicked out his foot, glancing Bucky's knee and causing the former assassin to wobble.

"Yeah, sure. Which ones do you want to wear?" Bucky lifted Liam onto the bed.

"I want my Iron Man shoes!" Liam pumped his fist in the air.

"Iron Man shoes?" Bucky frowned. What the hell were Iron Man shoes?

"I believe young Mister Rogers has a pair of red and gold sneakers. A gift from Mr. Stark," JARVIS supplied.

Bucky nodded and rummaged through Liam's closet, unearthing a pair of red and gold Converse.

"Iron Man sneakers," he muttered, "Of course."

After Bucky handed Liam the sneakers, the 4-year-old said, "Uncle Bucky! JARVIS helpeded you and you forgota say 'thank you.' Mommy says that you always gotsa say thank you!"

Bucky ruffled Liam's hair, "Right. Sorry, pal. Thank you, JARVIS."

"My pleasure, sir."

"Good job, Uncle Bucky," Liam nodded, shoving his feet into the sneakers and letting the laces flap, "Let's go! I'm ready."

Bucky knelt down to tie the sneakers, "Now you're ready."

"Follow me! I'm the leader today," Liam shouted, running off down the hall.

"I do think you're in for quite the day, Sergeant," JARVIS said, laughing slightly.

"I think you're right, JARVIS," Bucky shook his head, a smile on his face, "Check in on us every once in a while, will ya? Make sure the kid hasn't worn me down too much."

JARVIS laughed, "I think you're very capable of surviving a four-year-old's idea of fun."

"You do know that I'm over a hundred, right?" Bucky laughed, sliding his phone and keys into his jeans' pocket.

"Uncle Buckyyyy…you're so SLOW!" Liam moaned form the front door, zipping up his sweatshirt.

"Sorry, pal. I'm an old man," Bucky joked, opening the door and letting Liam run out.

Liam was looking at Bucky, a thoughtful expression on his face, "Are you as old as Daddy?"

Bucky nodded, "We grew up together. Best friends."

"Are you as old as Uncle Tony?" Liam jolted forward to smack the elevator button, grinning when it lit up.

"Uh…" Bucky paused. Technically he and Steve were older than Stark, but they didn't look it. And confusing the poor kid this early wasn't really on his agenda.

Luckily, before he could answer, Liam's attention shifted, "I'm gonna fly to the park, like Uncle Thor. All I gotta do is jump offa something reeeeaaaaal tall!"

Bucky grabbed onto Liam's hand and led him out of the lobby, "Maybe we leave the flying to the professionals?"

"Uncle Sam has the COOLEST wings! He said when I turn this many," using his free hand, Liam held up five fingers, "Then I can fly everywhere."

Bucky smiled down at his nephew, "Everywhere, huh?"

"Yup, I'm gonna fly all the way to Gram and Gramps in Connectut, and then I'm gonna fly to Yankee Stadium," Liam held tightly to Bucky's hand and bounced from foot to foot and over the cracks in the sidewalk.

"Where are we headed, Fly Boy?" Bucky asked as they stopped on the curb to wait for the light to change.

"Central Park! I wanna go on the playground and see the birds and can we row a boat and play catch?" Liam's voice was excited but he had stopped bouncing around while the crossed the street. Steve and Kit were beyond vigilant when it came to safety and their kid.

"I think we can definitely do the playground, and see the birds. We'll look into the boats and if we pass a sports' store we'll pick up some gloves," Bucky said, course correcting since they were heading to the Park.

Bucky watched the streets carefully as Liam chattered away at his side, occasionally tugging on the boy's arm to make sure he didn't walk into people.

"Uncle Bucky, Uncle Bucky, Uncle Bucky!" Liam tugged on Bucky's hand, practically dangling.

"What's up?" Bucky lifted his arm in the arm so Liam's feet were a few inches off the ground before setting him back on his feet.

"Guess what?"

"What?"

"Mommy," Liam broke off into childish giggles, crinkling his face up, "Mommy! Oh man, wait 'till you hear this!"

Bucky laughed, "Well tell me then if it's so funny."

As they got closer to the Park, the streets became a little more crowded. Since Liam was lagging behind due to his giggle fit, Bucky swung him up and onto his hip, walking a little faster now that he didn't have to worry about losing Liam.

"It's so funny! You're gonna laugh your underwear off! Uncle Clint teached me that…he said if something was so, so, so funny that you cracked up everywhere, you laughed your underwear right off! Isn't that funny, Uncle Bucky? Did you laugh your underwear off?" Liam was cracking himself up, burying his face in the side of Bucky's neck.

Clint's jokes weren't funny, but Liam's way of telling a story was.

"Pretty funny, kid. I bet your story is funnier though," Bucky would never admit it, but he was damn curious to find out what Liam thought was so hysterical.

"Oh, right," he mumbled, wrapping his arms tighter around Bucky's neck, "Mommy eated a baby!"

"She ate a baby?" Bucky stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Yep," Liam nodded into Bucky's neck, "She eated it and now it's in her tummy! Daddy telled me so."

Bucky smiled. So, Steve and Katherine were having another baby. It was about time.

Nudging Liam in his side, Bucky asked, "So when's your mom having this baby?"

Liam giggled, "That's the best part! After I turn five, Mommy's gonna POOP it out!"

Bucky couldn't help the snort that escaped. Oh man, was Steve going to have his hands full explaining sex to this one.

Meanwhile, Liam was going to be five in six months, so any time after that there was going to be another kid running around the Tower.

The thought made Bucky happy. The fact that the two kids that would be running around belonged to Steve made Bucky even happier.

"You know this means that you're going to be a big brother, right?" Bucky asked, winking at a kid that was staring.

He didn't get noticed as much as the others, but it had been happening more frequently lately. And to be honest, it didn't bother him as much as he thought it would.

"What's a big brother?" Liam asked, wiggling in Bucky's arms, desperate to escape and run to a playground.

"I means you have to look out for your younger sibling and protect them," Bucky said absentmindedly, letting Liam slide to the ground.

"Do I get to best them in races?"

Bucky smiled, "Probably."

"Then I guess I can be a big brother. Uncle Bucky, will you race me to the playground?" he stuck his lower lip out in a pout.

"Go on three," Bucky grinned, feeling a lot like his old self, "One…two…"

"THREE!" Liam shrieked, sprinting off as fast as his little legs would take him.

"Cheater!" Bucky called out, jogging a few steps behind.

You said on three!" Liam said, all of his energy focused on getting to the playground in front of him.

Bucky shook his head, easily keeping up. This kid was going to go places when he grew up.

"Push me!" Liam climbed up into the bucket swing.

"Say please, man," Bucky moved behind the swing, hands ready to push.

"Please?" Liam grumbled.

"That's more like it," Bucky pushed at the plastic swing with his right hand, not wanting to use all of his strength.

Bucky watched the other parkgoers while Liam enjoyed the swing. Steve sometimes teased him for his constant surveillance, but he wasn't taking any chances.

Eventually, Liam started kicking his legs, the swing moving without any help from Bucky.

"Hey, Liam. How about you smile and I'll take a picture for your mom and dad?" Bucky moved around the swing set and stood in front of Liam.

"I'm grinning real big! See!" Liam smiled a big cheesy smile and Bucky snapped the picture, his metal hand only fumbling a little bit with the touch screen. Maybe he would let Stark put a touch screen function on his hand.

In the split second it took for Bucky to look down at his phone and send Steve the picture, Liam had climbed out of the swing and was standing on it.

"I'm gonna fly like Uncle Sam!" Liam shouted before jumping off the still moving swing.

Bucky watched, horrified, as he was airborne for a few seconds and then landed smack on his face.

"Shit!" Bucky slid into the sand next to Liam, "Buddy, you okay?"

Liam rolled onto his back, looking a little shell-shocked.

Bucky sat quiet for a beat, and then…

Liam erupted into tears.

"Oh, man," Bucky gathered Liam into his arms, "Hey, you're okay. You'll be fine."

"M-m-my f-f-face h-h-hurts!" Liam wailed, curling up into a ball on Bucky's lap.

"Let me look at it," Bucky leaned back a little so Liam's face wasn't flush against his chest.

Scratches from the sand were all over his face and one eye was already starting to go black and blue. There was a bleeding cut on his chin and his face was bright red from crying, but it didn't look like his nose was broken or anything more serious.

Bucky watched as the bleeding from the cut on his chin slowed down, a byproduct of Steve's super serum genes.

After Liam had been born, they were all curious to see how Steve's modified DNA would affect any kids he had. Needless to say, they were all a little surprised when Liam was a normal sized newborn with no extra strength abilities.

But Katherine had noticed that he wasn't getting sick when his playgroup friends were. So, reluctantly (really reluctantly…Bucky's ears were still ringing from the screaming matches she and Steve had), she had let Stark and Banner run a few tests.

They'd come to the conclusion that Steve's incredible new immune system and ability to heal faster had been present since birth. But, even though Liam was tall for his age, he was still skinny, a trait he could have inherited from Katherine.

Bucky could still remember Steve saying that maybe the height and muscle building ability would kick in after puberty. And since that was still several years off, they weren't really worried about it.

But right now? Bucky was grateful for the serum's ability to heal.

"How about we go home and get some ice cream?" Bucky suggested, awkwardly getting to his feet.

Liam nodded weakly, still in shock from the impact, "With fudge?"

"Yeah, buddy. With fudge."


	4. Chapter 4

Liam had stopped crying by the time they hit the edge of the Park, but he still wouldn't walk on his own.

So Bucky sighed and tightened his grip and walked back to the Tower.

"Uncle Bucky," Liam mumbled, resting his head against Bucky's shoulder and holding a piece of Bucky's hair in his little fist.

"Yeah, pal?" Bucky jogged across the street to beat the light.

"My face still hurts," he whined, burying his face in Bucky's neck.

"I know. But it'll feel better soon, promise," Bucky nudged the door to the Tower open with his shoulder.

"Hey!" Liam said, voice rising above a mumble for the first time since they left the Park, "It's Aunt Maria! Aunt Maria!"

Bucky frowned as Liam shouted Maria Hill's name right in his ear.

"Hi, Liam," Maria finished talking to the security guard and walked over.

Liam leaned halfway out of Bucky's arms and held his hands out to Maria. She grinned and lifted him onto her hip.

"Liam! What happened to your face?" she gasped, tilting his chin so she could look at the cuts and bruises.

"I fell," Liam said very seriously, hugging Maria's neck and looking for sympathy.

Bucky snorted, "Why don't you tell the real story?"

Maria looked from Liam to Bucky, "Real story?"

Bucky nodded, "Yeah, he jumped from the swing."

Maria laughed and squeezed Liam's sides, "Is that true, little man?"

"I just wanted to fly like Uncle Sam," Liam wailed, smacking Maria's shoulder with his fist.

Bucky grabbed him back, "Hey, apologize to Aunt Maria. We don't hit."

Liam cast his eyes downward, "Sorry, Aunt Maria."

Maria smiled and brushed her hand over Liam's dark blond hair, "It's okay, buddy."

Over Liam's head she mouthed, "I think he needs a nap," to Bucky.

Bucky nodded, he had been thinking the same thing.

After Maria promised Liam she would come up for dinner with them, she headed back to the security offices and Bucky brought Liam upstairs.

"Okay, pal. We should get your face cleaned off," Bucky placed Liam on the couch.

With a yawn, Liam nodded and curled up into a little ball.

Bucky frowned, he hasn't seen the kid this tired ever. He really hoped he didn't have a concussion.

"Look up," Bucky held Liam's chin and started to wipe at the dried blood. Liam's eyes followed the movement of his hand, reassuring Bucky that there was no concussion.

"That hurts," Liam moaned, kicking his foot out, probably hoping to kick Bucky.

"Sorry, kid. I'm done," Bucky held up the paper towel as proof.

Bucky moved to the kitchen and tossed the dirty towel.

"You hungry?"

"Yeah," Liam sighed, turning the TV on and flipping to a cartoon station, "Can I have peabutter and fluff?"

"Peanut butter and fluff, I can do that," Bucky said, gathering the ingredients.

Five minutes later he had two sandwiches made and was carrying them into the living room.

"Liam, buddy, lunch," Bucky handed Liam the plate, and sat on the couch next to him

"This is pretty good," Liam mumbled around a mouthful of peanut butter and fluff.

"Glad you like it," Bucky chewed on the sticky sandwich and swallowed thickly, "Do you want some milk?"

Liam nodded, head resting on his fist.

Bucky knew the kid would be out soon, he didnâ t realize that Liam would be out by the time he came back from the kitchen.

"Kid, here's your-" Bucky grinned at the sight of Liam, spread-eagle on the couch, one hand dangling off the edge, drooling, foot dangerously close to the leftover peanut butter and fluff sandwich.

Bucky picked up the plate, and tossed a blanket over Liam's back.

"See ya in an hour, pal," he muttered, smiling at the way Liam's nose twitched in his sleep.

Bucky was at a little bit of a loss as to what to do while Liam napped.

There was no life or death matter for him to get into.

It was quiet without Liam chattering or bouncing on furniture or stumbling over his own feet.

Bucky realized that his own floor in the Tower must have been this quiet when he was down there. But now it just felt weird.

It was almost too quiet.

"JARVIS?" Bucky asked quietly.

"Yes, sir?"

"Could you put Steve on the phone?" Bucky could have very easily pulled out his phone and called Steve on his own, but he wanted to talk to someone.

"Certainly, sir. Would you like voice only or picture as well?"

"Uh, video," Bucky dropped to the couch and watched as the TV turned on and displayed Steve's name.

The side of Steve's face filled the screen, "Kit, babe, it's Bucky. Give me a minute."

Steve turned his head so he was looking at the camera full-on, "Hey, Buck. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything is fine. Just..." Bucky paused and let a smile spread on his face, "Congratulations."

Steve frowned, "Making fun of me for being stuck in New Haven? That's mean, old man."

Bucky snorted, "I was talking about the new baby."

Steve couldn't help the grin that spread across his face, even though his forehead crinkled in confusion, "How'd you know about that?"

"The kid may be taking punching lesions from Natasha, but he sure as hell isn't taking secret keeping lessons from her," Bucky smiled.

"I knew we should've waited to tell Liam," Steve shook his head, "Kit wanted him to know."

"He's pretty hysterical over it. Thinks she's gonna poop it out," Bucky chuckled at the memory of Liam's giggle fit.

Steve groaned, "God, I'm gonna have to explain some of that, aren't I?"

Bucky nodded, "Yeah. How's Katherine?"

Steve grimaced, "She's seen better days. Spent the morning hugging the toilet. And all the hormones have her going haywire."

Bucky noticed the dark circles under Steve's eyes. His best friend looked like hell.

"You up all night with her?" Bucky asked.

Steve nodded, "Yeah. Crying, vomiting, talking. It's been a long day so far. How's Liam?"

"Good, napping," Bucky paused, contemplating if he should mention the kid's face dive into the sand, "He did have a minor incident at the Park today."

Steve raised an eyebrow, "How minor?"

"Took a flying jump off of a moving swing, minor," Bucky said, a small smile tilting the corner of his lips.

Steve groaned, "I told him to stop imitating Sam and Thor. Is he hurt?"

Bucky shook his head, "Nah, coupla scrapes on his face, a deeper cut on his chin. But it's already healing."

"Good," Steve said, "He's napping, right? Kit and I can't talk to him?"

"I'll call back when he gets up, if you want," Bucky tilted his head, trying to see if he could hear Liam.

Steve shook his head, "It's okay. I'm actually pretty surprised that he hasn't melted down. We've never been away from him this long."

Bucky grinned smugly, "I'm just that awesome."

Steve rolled his eyes, smiling, "If he asks for us, then call. But if not, don't bother. I don't want him freaking out on you."

Bucky nodded, "Sure. How's everything up there?"

Steve was about to answer, but Kit's voice interrupted, "Steve? Do we have any more ginger ale? I think I'm going to-"

"Shit," Steve jumped up, shaking the phone's screen, "Buck? I gotta go, talk to you later."

The image on screen bounced around for a few minutes and Bucky could hear Kit crying before it cut to black.

Bucky did not envy his best friend in that moment.

But, Bucky thought, when it came to the sleeping toddler in the other room? Maybe he was a little jealous of Steve.


	5. Chapter 5

"Uncle Buckyyyy..." Liam shouted from his bedroom.

"In the kitchen, pal. Come on out," Bucky shouted back.

"I don't wanna! You come here!" Liam shouted, and Bucky could hear the unmistakable thumping that was feet hitting the footboard.

Rolling his eyes, Bucky moved silently down the hallway and leaned against the doorjamb in Liam's room.

Liam was cuddled under his (thankfully not Iron Man) dinosaur sheets, a shit eating grin on his face.

"What's up, buddy?"

Liam yawned happily, "I had a GREAT nap. Let's go now!"

He made no effort to get out of bed.

"Go where?" Bucky brushed his hair from his eyes.

"Back to the park!" Liam bounced in his bed, "I wanna play catch."

Bucky looked at his watch, just before 2. They had plenty of time before dinner.

He shrugged, "Okay, grab your mitt and let's go."

Liam opened his eyes wide and let his lower lip poke out into a pout, "Carry me?"

Bucky sighed; he wasn't supposed to carry Liam around that much. Some psychobabble that Kit had been trying to explain to him -all of them, really- about why Liam wasn't supposed to be carried so much.

Unfortunately, Liam was the only kid around the Tower, and by default the cutest.

And damn did he know how to use it.

One pout and a set of puppy-dog eyes and they were tripping over their feet to get Liam what he wanted.

"Just this once, okay?" Bucky let Liam jump up and get on his back.

"Ready?" Bucky asked, feeling Liam's arms wrap around his neck and his knobby knees dig into his side.

"Yep!" Liam shouted into his ear, "Go, go, go!"

Bucky laughed and jogged into the living room, Liam giggling the whole way.

Bucky let go of Liam's legs and hoped he would fall to the couch.

No such luck.

Liam hung onto Bucky's neck, legs kicking a little as he tried to get more traction to stay in a piggyback.

"I'm fallin'. Help me!" He giggled, landing a kick to Bucky's upper thigh.

Bucky coughed, "Liam, pal, you're choking me. Let go."

With a heavy sigh, Liam unhooked his hands and fell to the couch with a thump.

"Park now?" he grinned up at Bucky, brownish-blond hair falling into his eyes.

"Yeah, go grab your mitt, we'll have a catch for an hour," Bucky ruffled Liam's hair and jumped out of the way when the 4-year-old bounced off the couch.

"Great! I'll get Daddy's glove. You can borrow it!" and with a swift punch to Bucky's knee, Liam was off running down the hall, the unmistakable sound of him tripping and hitting the ground coming a few seconds later.

"You okay?" Bucky called, muffling a laugh.

"Fine!" Liam shouted.

Bucky pulled a pair of sneakers on while he waited for Liam to come back.

"I got 'em," Liam galloped like a horse into the living room.

"Grab your sweatshirt and we'll go," Bucky took the two baseball gloves from Liam and handed the boy his sweatshirt.

"I call hitting the button!" Liam bounced at the door, fully energized after his nap.

Bucky let him out into the hallway and Liam bounded forward, smacking the elevator button with his palm.

Looking up at Bucky, he wrinkled his nose, "My chin feels itchy."

Bucky nodded, "The cut from this morning is getting a scab. Don't touch it."

Liam's hand went immediately to the scab on his chin.

Bucky groaned, "Come on, kid."

Liam darted into the elevator, karate kicking at the opposite wall. A black scuffmark was left behind.

Liam squatted down to examine it, "Huh, I bet Uncle Tony's not gonna be happy 'bout that!"

Bucky was leaning against the elevator wall, arms crossed, "So why'd you kick it?"

He shrugged, "Aunt Nat kicks stuff. And Uncle Tony kicked Dum-E last week and then he said the bestest word. Only Mommy said I'm not sp'osed to peat that word!"

Bucky snorted, he could definitely think up a few curses Tony liked that were not Liam-approved.

Leading Liam off the elevator, Bucky said, "Maybe you should just kick the special bags we have instead of walls?"

"Hey! Look!" Liam pointed across the lobby, "It's Uncle Happy! Hey! Uncle Happy! It's me! Liam Buchanan Rogers! Look over here!"

Bucky turned his head in time to see Happy startled away from his phone conversation.

Happy grinned, said something into the phone and walked over.

"Liam Buchanan Rogers! Good to see ya, man!" Happy laughed, kneeling down to high-five Liam.

"I fell off the swing," Liam exclaimed, "and I've got a scab! Look!"

He pointed to the scab, even as Bucky coughed, "jumped from the swing," under his breath.

Happy looked up and shared a nod and a half-smile with Bucky, looking just a little warily at the metal hand peeking out from Bucky's sleeve.

Bucky paled a little and shoved the hand into his pocket. He didn't blame Happy for being wary. After all, before his recovery, Bucky had attempted killing almost all of the Avengers and anyone in their inner circle, Happy included.

"Check out that scab," Happy was back to talking to Liam, "Think it'll scar?"

Liam's eyes widened, "That would be SO COOL!"

Happy nudged his sleeve aside, "See that?"

Liam leaned in closer to look at the scar, "That is the COOLEST!"

He rounded on Bucky, "Do you have any cool scars like Uncle Happy?"

Bucky coughed uncomfortably, "I've got a few."

"Can I see them?" Liam bounced.

"Uh...they're under my shirt. I don't want to take it off. Maybe later," Bucky tried, but failed, to keep his tone from becoming clipped.

Liam shrugged, and turned back to Happy, "Didja get that one when Uncle Tony had to save you?"

Happy put on a mock-insulted face (Bucky thought it might not be so fake, though), and said, "What lies is that uncle of yours telling you? I've saved his a-butt plenty of times!"

Liam shook his head, "That's not what Uncle Tony says!"

Happy grumbled under his breath before standing up, "I'm gonna have a chat with him later. But I've gotta go help Pepper with some work. I'll see you later, buddy."

Liam nodded, and then stuck his hand out for a high-five.

Happy slapped his hand, and quickly stuck his hand out to shake Bucky's.

Bucky shook quickly and nodded, acknowledging Happy's lack of comfort.

Liam led Bucky back out onto the sidewalk and towards the park.

"Hey! I just thought of somethin', can I tell you?" Liam asked, swinging from Bucky's metal arm.

"Yeah, shoot," Bucky twitched his shoulder, metal biting slightly into flesh as Liam swung.

"A gun?" Liam stopped swinging for a second, "I'm gonna shoot a gun?"

Bucky laughed, "Sorry, kid. It's just an expression. I mean ask your question."

Liam scrunched up his nose, "What's a 'spression?"

"Uh...it's like, something people say," Bucky squinted as he tried to think of a good way to explain.

"Oh, okay," Liam resumed swinging, "So can I shoot my question away?"

Bucky stopped Liam from swinging right into the street and nodded, "Go ahead."

"How come you don't got one of me?" Liam leaned down to scratch at his ankle, tugging on Bucky's arm.

"What do you mean?" Bucky pulled Liam out of the way of a group of tourists.

"Why don't you have one of me?" Liam grumbled, unhappy that his question wasn't being understood.

"I do have one of you. You're right here!" Bucky laughed, gently tugging on his arm.

"But I belong to Mommy and Daddy. And so will the new baby. And Aunt Nat and Uncle Clint are gonna have one of me and Uncle Bruce and Aunt Betty. So how come you and Uncle Tony and Aunt Pep don't have any of me?"

Bucky's mouth turned down in understanding.

How did he explain to a 4-year-old why he didn't have a kid?

While he was thinking, Bucky caught onto something else Liam had said.

"What was that about your Aunt Nat and Uncle Clint?"

Liam had already lost interest in the conversation, having spotted one of the carriage horses near the entrance to Central Park.

"I hearded Uncle Clint say to stop fighting cause of the baby," Liam mumbled, eyes following the horse's every move, "And then Aunt Nat punchded his shoulder and they kissed- yuck!"

Liam's face scrunched into a look of disgust as he pulled Bucky in the direction of the horse.

"Can I pet him?" Liam begged, and Bucky looked at the carriage driver.

The older man nodded, "Just rub gently right here. She loves that."

Bucky hoisted Liam up onto his hip so he could reach the horse's nose.

Liam shrieked with joy as he pet the horse, and she blew warm breath onto his hand.

"Oh man! She's so, so, so soft!" Liam giggled, waving good-bye to the man and the horse.

Bucky still held him on his hip, thoughts still on Natasha and Clint's possible baby. And his own lack of wife and children.

He had known that Bruce and Betty were in the process of adopting, but he hadn't been aware that they told Liam. Although with him, he could have very easily been eavesdropping.

The possibility of three more kids running around the Tower? That made Bucky want to add to the number.

Kids growing up together, best friends. Protecting each other like he and Steve had? With superheroes raising them and teaching them the right thing to do? It sounded like a great way to grow-up.

This was turning out to be a very introspective weekend.

"Throw it harder!" Liam stomped his foot, "Uncle Thor throws it so, so, so fast!"

Bucky shook his head, "I don't want to hurt you."

Liam pouted, "I'm tough!"

"I know you are, pal," Bucky threw the baseball underhanded from a few feet away.

Liam missed it, but grinned happily as he trotted to get it.

"Are you ready, Uncle Bucky?" He shouted, lobbing the ball even as he spoke.

The ball arced to the ground and bounced a foot in front of Bucky, but Liam danced happily in his spot.

"I'm gonna play for the Yankees!" Liam crowed, "Daddy says I'm so good!"

Bucky laughed, "You are good, Liam! Better than your dad, even."

Liam's face split into a wide grin at the comparison, "Maybe Daddy and I can play for the Yankees together!"

Bucky nodded, "Your dad would probably like that."

He tossed the ball gently, unaccustomed to using his right hand. Throwing a ball with his left hand probably would've taken Liam's head off.

Even still, his non-dominant hand had more strength behind it than most people's dominant hands.

Liam's tongue poked out of his mouth as he aimed to catch the ball.

Bucky watched as the baseball fell into Liam's outstretched glove with a soft thump and grinned.

Liam's face fell into a look of shock, before he burst into happy shouts.

"I did it! Look! I caught it! Uncle BUCKY! I did it!" he rushed forward and locked his arms around Bucky's knees.

"That's great!" Bucky ruffled Liam's hair; "You're practically an All-Star now!"

"Can I call Mommy and Daddy to tell them?" Liam asked, little hand gripping tightly onto the baseball.

"Sure you can, pal. We'll head home and you can call them before dinner."

"And I can tell everyone when we eat!" Liam fist-pumped a little, skipping along next to Bucky.

"I bet they'll be excited to hear about it," Bucky steered Liam in the right direction.

"Oh man! Can I even show them how great I can catch?"

Bucky nodded, "As long as you can be careful in the house."

Liam nodded, "I can be so super careful!"

Bucky laughed a little at the boy, enjoying how happy he was.

"Hey, Uncle Bucky?"

"Yeah?"

"Since I'm the All-Star can I decide on dinner?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick question for you guys, do you like seeing random Avengers characters pop up? Like Maria Hill, and Happy? Would you want to see more of the other Avengers?


	6. Chapter 6

Natasha, Pepper, Bruce and Maria were all waiting in the apartment by the time Bucky and Liam got back up.

"Hey!" Liam exclaimed as he pushed the door open, "Everyone's here! Is it my birthday?"

Bucky snorted, "Your birthday's not for another six months, pal."

"Oh," Liam said from his new position on Pepper's lap, "Well why's everyone here?"

He smiled happily as Pepper ran her hand through his soft hair, practically purring.

"We thought we'd join you and Uncle Bucky for dinner," Pepper said, direction her next question to Bucky, "If that's okay?"

Bucky nodded, "More the merrier."

He never thought he'd say those words, but he believed them.

"Merrier!" Liam parroted, wrapping his arms around Pepper's neck and planting a smacking kiss to her cheek, "I can show you my catching!"

Pepper made her eyes appropriately wide, "Catching? What can you catch? Fish?"

Liam giggled, "No, silly! Baseball! Uncle Bucky throwed it and I catched it!"

"You did?" Pepper poked his tummy, tickling him gently.

"Uh-huh!" Liam squirmed, laughing.

Bruce dropped the science journal he was flipping through, "Maybe you can show me how to catch, huh buddy?"

Liam climbed out of Pepper's arms and into Bruce's lap, "I thought you were smart, smart, smart. Like Uncle Tony! You can't catch a baseball?"

Bruce laughed, "Never really learned how to. Think you can teach me?"

Liam nodded, "Yeah! I teach you like Daddy and Uncle Bucky teached me!"

Bucky was leaning against the kitchen island, watching Liam interact with the adults. He was such a happy kid, smart, energetic. And watching they way the Avengers and their friends interacted with him was equally entertaining.

They didn't talk down to him; treating him almost like an equal.

Bucky wasn't sure why, but he liked that fact that no one babied Liam.

"Hey, All-Star, what do you want for dinner?" Bucky got Liam's attention, and watched as his nephew tapped his finger to his lip, a move he'd picked up from Kit.

While Liam was thinking, Natasha laughed from her spot on the couch, "You're gonna cook, Barnes?"

Bucky grinned at her, "Don't trust me, Romanoff?"

"Never," Natasha winked, smirking.

"Hey!" Liam shouted, "Pay attention to me! I'm deciding."

Bucky covered his mouth with his hand to stop the laugh from escaping, "Yeah, pal. What'd you pick?"

"I want 'roni and cheese!" Liam said, standing up on Bruce's lap. Bruce grunted as Liam's foot came dangerously close to his groin and kept a tight grip on the kid's wrist so he wouldn't fall.

"Macaroni and cheese," Bucky repeated, "Got it."

Maria and Pepper stood up, simultaneously offering their help.

Bucky accepted and the trio started making noise in the kitchen, leaving Liam with Bruce and Natasha.

"Aunt Nat!" Liam clambered up onto the couch and tucked himself next to his redheaded aunt.

Natasha smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of Liam's head, "What's up, moy malen'kiy chelovek?"

Liam frowned, "I forgot. What's that mean?"

Natasha smiled, "Hmm…'moy malen'kiy chelovek' means 'my little man'."

"That's me!" Liam smiled happily, "Can you play trains with me and Uncle Bruce?"

Natasha nodded, "Sure can. Is Uncle Bruce getting the trains?"

"Yep, yep, yep! Cause they're up SO high and I can't even reach them," Liam slid off the couch and lay on his stomach on the floor.

Natasha sat cross-legged next to him, brushing her fingers over his hair.

She couldn't wait to have one of her own. Well, hers and Clint's.

Subconsciously, her free hand rested on her abdomen, fingertips skimming lightly over the fabric.

"Here, Aunt Nat!" Liam shoved a brightly colored train into her hands, effectively breaking Natasha from her thoughts.

She looked around, hoping no one had seen her space out a little. But from the half-smirk on Bruce's face, she knew he had noticed.

She glared at him, warning with her eyes not to say a word.

Bruce nodded and smiled back.

"Liam, let's build the tracks," he started attaching two pieces of toy train track, and Natasha knew her secret would be safe.

"We gotta build a super long track!" Liam scrambled over the pieces, "My trains are super fast and they're gonna help you get the bad guys!"

Natasha laughed, "Do they help us speed over to fight the bad guys?"

"No," Liam looked at his aunt very seriously, "They hit right into the bad guys and knock 'em over for you."

"Oh, that's very helpful of them," she hooked two pieces of track together and passed it to Bruce.

"I think we gotta make a tunnel too," Liam said, standing above the tracks, hands on his hips.

Bruce nodded, "I think you're right. Grab some books."

"Vegetables?" Bucky frowned, forehead wrinkling in confusion.

Pepper nodded, "It's so much healthier, and it's a great way to get kids to eat more vegetables."

"You barely taste them," Maria supplied, chopping carrots into small pieces.

"You can still see them though," Bucky muttered, pouring pasta into a boiling pot of water.

Pepper laughed, "What do you have against vegetables, Bucky?"

"It's not the vegetables, so much as that fact that this is so far from the boxed Kraft macaroni and cheese I'm used to," Bucky shrugged.

Maria shuddered, "That stuff is so disgusting."

Bucky protested, "Hey! That stuff is delicious. I've seen those weird green smoothies you drink, those can't be any better."

"It's all vegetables!" Maria exclaimed, "Of course it's better."

"Not if it tastes like grass," Bucky countered with a smile.

Maria grumbled, "Stupid soldiers not appreciating healthy food."

Bucky and Pepper laughed.

"You think this'll be enough?" Bucky wondered, "That kid eats like nobodies business."

Pepper grated cheese into the dish of pasta and vegetables before sprinkling breadcrumbs over the top and sticking the dish into the oven.

"We could make some quick chicken fingers," she suggested, "Between Liam, Bruce, you and Natasha we probably won't have enough with just the mac and cheese."

Maria stuck her head in the freezer, "Pre-sliced chicken breasts. Gotta love Kit. Let's bread these and bake them."

Bucky never, in a million years, would've imagined that he'd be cooking chicken fingers and mac and cheese for Steve's son. And he never imagined that he'd feel so at home.

"I wanna sit next to Uncle Bucky and Aunt Pepper!" Liam shouted, jumping over his (extensive) train track set-up, banging his knee on the coffee table and almost knocking Maria over.

"Whoa, calm down, kid," Bucky said, lifting the dish of chicken fingers over Liam's head.

"I can't help it! I'm just sooooo hungry," Liam grinned, kicking his legs happily as Bruce lifted hm under the armpits and swooped him into his chair.

"I guess that means you're going to eat everything on your plate, huh?' Pepper asked, pouring water into the glasses on the table.

Liam nodded, grabbing his sippy cup and drinking.

Bucky leaned over to cut the strips of chicken into bite-sized pieces for Liam, before turning back to his own plate.

Liam dug into his foot, his cheeks puffing out because he sometimes forgot to swallow before adding a new bite into his mouth.

"Hey, burunduk, chew and swallow," Natasha laughed across the table.

Liam's cheeks bulged and crumbs of chicken spewed onto the table as he talked, "—hts brrndk mean?"

Pepper and Maria winced as the few went everywhere, and Bruce and Bucky wiped up the crumbs.

"It means chipmunk," Natasha said, "You know, the animal…"

"With fat cheeks!" Liam giggled, having finally swallowed.

Natasha nodded, "That's right."

"I'm a chipmunk!" Liam bragged, shoveling more mac and cheese into his mouth.

"Yeah, but chipmunks have to swallow their food too," Bucky said, "Slow down, pal."

Liam nodded, and quietly finished his food while the adults talked.

"Tony said they should be back tomorrow afternoon," Pepper said, forking a bite of chicken.

"Just in time for movie night," Natasha laughed, "Clint would've been annoyed if he missed that."

"When are Steve and Kit getting back?" Bruce asked.

"Late Saturday or early Sunday," Bucky said, "Depends on the time the F-U-N-E-R-A-L ends."

Bruce nodded, and then turned to Liam, "So how was the Park today, pal?"

"Great!" he pointed to the scab on his chin, "I jumped right off the swing. I flyed just like Uncle Thor and Uncle Sam."

"Sounds like you had fun," Bruce smiled.

Liam nodded, "Uh-huh. And I had peabutter and fluff for lunch."

Natasha leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, "You know, that's Uncle Clint's favorite sandwich."

"Really?" Liam's eyes widened.

Natasha nodded, "Yep. He can't get enough."

"Can we have them tomorrow when he comes back?" Liam asked, wiping cheese from his face.

Natasha shrugged, "I don't see why not."

"Yes!" Liam pumped his fist in the air.

Bucky laughed at him, glad Liam was having a good time.

"Hey, Uncle Bucky," Liam tugged on Bucky's shirt.

"Yeah, pal?" Bucky dropped the dishes into the sink and squatted down to Liam's eye level.

"Can I talk to Mommy and Daddy?" Liam sagged against Bucky's leg; it was almost bath and bedtime.

"Sure. You can talk to them while we clean up," Bucky lifted Liam up onto his hip and carried him into the living room, setting him onto the couch next to Natasha and Maria.

"Would you guys mind calling up Steve? Kiddo wants to talk to him and Katherine," Bucky explained.

Maria nodded, letting the sleepy little boy climb into her lap. Natasha brushed aside the security protocol paperwork they had been working on and called out for JARVIS.

Bucky, Pepper and Bruce watched Liam talk to his parents from the kitchen.

Both Kit and Steve looked tired. Kit was pale and her eyes were red, but she was smiling at her son, gasping when she saw the scab and half-healed cuts on his face.

"Ooh, I wish I could reach through this screen and kiss your little face," Kit said, smiling at Liam as she leaned against Steve's shoulder.

Liam blew Kit a kiss, "Here, Mommy!"

Kit teared up and Steve rubbed his hand over her shoulder.

"Thanks, buddy. Mommy needed that."

"Daddy! I catchded a ball today. Uncle Bucky throwed it and it was right in my glove," Liam grinned, running to show Steve the mitt and ball.

"That's great, buddy! All of your practice has been paying off, huh?" Steve grinned at his son.

"Uh-huh, and Uncle Bucky maded peabutter and fluff for lunch and nuggets and 'roni and cheese for dinner," Liam climbed into Natasha's lap and played with a piece of her hair.

"He did, huh?" Steve looked up and saw Bucky grinning in the background, "Was it good?"

"Yeah, but mostly 'cause Aunt Pep and Aunt Maria helped," Liam said, grinning mischievously.

Bucky and Steve let out matching laughs.

"Oh, I bet Uncle Bucky did a good job," Kit said, giving Bucky a half-smile.

Liam nodded, "He made me 'cakes this morning. They were yum."

"I'm so glad," Kit said, "Now, I think it's bath time for a little bug."

Liam scrunched up his nose, "I don't wanna."

"Come on, Liam. You know the rule," Steve said, authority leaking into his tone.

Liam dropped his head, "Can I at least have bubbles?"

Kit nodded, "As long as Uncle Bucky says okay."

Liam turned puppy-dog eyes on his uncle, and Bucky had no choice but to nod.

"Yay! Bubbles!" Liam rolled off of Natasha's lap and hurried into the bathroom.

"I don't know if we should be insulted that he likes his bubbles more than us," Steve laughed.

"Don't worry, Cap," Natasha smiled, "He couldn't stop talking about how great you are."

Steve smiled, his eyes lighting up, "Good to know."

"Hey, punk, got a minute?" Bucky called out.

Steve nodded, "Yeah, jerk. What do you want?"

Kit took one look at Bucky's face and knew that he needed a private conversation, "I'll be inside," she kissed Steve's cheek and waved to everyone before leaving the screen.

"Natasha, would you and Pepper and Maria mind starting the kid's bath?" Bucky asked, looking at the three women in the room.

Natasha nodded, and mumbled something about 'good practice' before leading the parade down the hallway.

"I'll be…in the lab," Bruce nodded a good-bye to Steve and headed out.

As soon as they were alone, Bucky asked, "How'd you meet Katherine?"

"Huh?" Steve looked confused, and Bucky didn't blame him.

Blowing out a sigh, Bucky repeated his question, "You met Katherine before I was…fixed. How'd you meet?"

Steve narrowed his eyes at his best friend before smiling knowingly, "If you want to be set up with someone ask Nat. She's actually a pretty good matchmaker."

Bucky shook his head, "No…I think I'll keep Natasha out of this, for now. So is that how you and Katherine met? Natasha?"

Steve shrugged, "Indirectly. I met Kit just about seven years ago. Right after…well…you and HYDRA and SHIELD and all of that. I was…not in a good headspace. I needed to talk to someone that had zero connection to anything in my life. And Natasha Googled therapists near my place. Kit was the closest. I went for a session…and the rest is history."

"History," Bucky repeated.

"Are you lookin' to start something up?" Steve asked.

Bucky hesitated, "I might…spending the day with Liam has been really…enlightening. I think I might like to get back in the world. I'm not back to normal, yet, but I think I could get there."

Steve nodded, "I know you can, Buck. Hey, when we get back, I'll help you find a dame."

Bucky smiled wryly; how the tables had turned.

"Sounds good, Steve. I'd better check on bath time," Bucky jerked his finger over his shoulder.

"Let me know how it goes," Steve smiled, "Put Liam on before bed, we'll say goodnight."

Bucky nodded, and Steve hung up, sending the TV screen black.

"Pew, pew, pew!" Liam shrieked, sending his action figures splashing in the water.

"Hey, what's going on?" Bucky said, coming into the (slightly overcrowded) bathroom.

Pepper, Natasha and Maria all turned their heads at the sound of his voice, and Bucky had to use all of his willpower not to laugh.

The three of them were drenched in water.

"UNCLE BUCKY!" Liam shrieked, energized, "Hawkeye and Cap'n America are fightin' the aliens!"

He held up two action figures, both bearing a scary likeness to their real-life counterparts.

"I think your aunts are losing," Bucky laughed, earning glares from the women.

"I splashed a little," Liam smiled sheepishly.

"I can see that," Bucky squatted next to the edge of the tub, "You almost ready to get out?"

Liam pouted, "No…I like my bubbles and my guys!"

He brandished the action figures in the air again.

"I know you like your guys, but maybe you can take them to bed with you," Bucky wiped a blob of soap from Liam's forehead.

Liam shrugged, "Maybe."

"if you guys want, I'll finish up," Bucky said, turning to face the trio of dripping wet women.

They shared a look and nodded.

"Sounds good to us," Pepper said, "Night Liam."

"We'll see you tomorrow," Natasha said.

"I think Uncle Bucky's looking a little dry, give him a good splash for us," Maria winked, laughing as she heard Bucky's indignant cry.

"Hey, you don't have to listen to everything Aunt Maria says," Bucky poured water over the top of Liam's head, getting rid of the last few soap suds.

"But she's smart," Liam grumbled, spitting water from his mouth and reaching out to grab a fistful of Bucky's shirt and wiping his eyes on it.

"Ergh…" Bucky grabbed a towel and held it, "Okay, climb on out."

"Hang on, I gotta grab my guys," Liam started rounding up the plastic toys, unearthing them from the soap bubbles.

One by one, Avengers action figures were dropped over the edge of the tub, landing on the floor with thumps. Bucky was happy to see a Winter Soldier action figure join the rest, even though it was missing its metal arm.

The day his action figure had been added to the Avengers set…that was the day Bucky knew he would fit right in with the modern world.

Liam finally scrambled out of the tub after searching for one of the Falcon's missing wings.

He shivered and launched his skinny body into Bucky's arms, relaxing when Bucky wrapped the soft towel around his shoulders.

"Dinosaur pajamas?" Bucky asked, carrying Liam into his room.

Liam nodded against Bucky's neck.

Bucky dropped Liam to his bed and found the pajamas under the pillow.

"How about you get dressed and I'll go get your guys?" Bucky held out the pajamas.

"Okay, make sure you get them all," Liam muttered, dropping the towel to the floor and shimmying into his pajama pants.

Bucky came back into the room a few minutes later, arms full of slightly damp plastic, and found Liam curled up under his covers.

"Hey, buddy, here are your guys," Bucky dropped them to the covers and Liam started rearranging them.

Bucky sat on the edge of the bed and watched Liam meticulously line the action figures up against the wall.

Once he was done, Liam turned to Bucky, "Can you read me Curious George?"

Bucky nodded, "Sure can, pal."

He grabbed the yellow-covered book from Liam's bookshelf and sat next to Liam, letting the boy tuck himself close.

"This is George. He lived in Africa. He was very happy. But he had one fault. He was too curious," Bucky started reading.

"What's curious?" Liam asked through a yawn.

"Means you want to know about lots of things," Bucky continued reading, "One day George saw a man. He had on a large yellow straw hat."

"Why was his hat yellow?"

"I don't know. Maybe it was his favorite color," Bucky looked down at Liam and used one hand to smooth down his hair.

"Oh, I like yellow," Liam's head grew heavy against Bucky's side.

"Me too, buddy," Bucky answered, continuing to read, "The man saw George too…"

A page and a half later, Liam's breathing grew even and his eyes were completely shut.

Bucky smiled and moved carefully so he wouldn't wake Liam up.

"Night, buddy. I had a good day today," Bucky let his hand rest on the top of Liam's head for a minute, before flicking on the nightlight and shutting the overhead light.

He shut the door halfway, so he could still hear if Liam got up.


	7. Chapter 7

Bucky could feel the powerful rage in his body-the need to destroy something, everything. 

His hand flexed, the metal making no sound. 

His mind was blank, save for his target. His only thought was to kill. 

Acutely aware of the knife and guns attached to his body, Bucky stole quietly through the window. The high tech metal and glass slid open without sticking or making a single noise. 

Good, Bucky thought, makes my job easier. 

He moved quickly and quietly around the mess on the floor and down the hallway into the bedroom. 

He knew exactly where he was going, exactly who he was going to kill. 

The soft sounds of snoring met his ears as he stood just outside the bedroom door. 

His mind blank once again, Bucky stepped into the room and was quickly at the side of the bed, his metal hand reaching out and grabbing. 

Coughing, sputtering, “Bucky? Buck, it’s me! It’s Steve.”

Bucky’s eyes were flat, no recognition. 

Steve continued to shout his name, warm, human fingers clawing at Bucky’s strong metal ones. 

Bucky’s hand didn’t give, didn’t release.

Kit woke up suddenly, a shout leaving her throat. 

“Bucky! Bucky? What are--- Steve!” she scrambled on the bed, reaching for Bucky’s arm, trying to pull it away from Steve’s throat. 

Bucky used his free hand, not metal, but still stronger than a normal person’s, and knocked her to the side. She hit her head on the night table, the sickening thud affecting Steve, but not Bucky. 

Steve kicked out his legs, trying to make contact with Bucky. But he was quickly fading.   
“Buck…Bucky…I know you’re there. Liam…think about…” Steve coughed, hands faltering as they clawed at Bucky’s hand. 

Bucky’s hand tightened; he could feel the way Steve’s neck vertebrae were cracking under the pressure, the way his throat was caving in. 

Steve’s eyes were full of tears as he made eye contact with Bucky. 

“End…of the…line, huh?” he coughed out, hands dropping to his side, and legs finally going still. 

As soon as Bucky was sure that Steve was dead, his hand opened, dropping Captain America to his bed like a sack of potatoes. 

One look at Kit and the blood leaking from her head, Bucky knew she was dead. Dead by his hand. 

Two down. 

Striding purposefully out of the room, Bucky slipped quietly into the room next door. 

He didn’t register the superhero posters on the wall. The baseball memorabilia strewn everywhere. The Legos that crunched underfoot didn’t bother him. 

The boy sleeping in bed clutched an action figure. 

Bucky went through the motions, reaching out and grabbing his throat. 

Liam’s eyes flew open, “Uncle Bucky?”

Bucky didn’t respond verbally, he only tightened his grip, lifting Liam out of his bed. 

“Uncle Bucky!” The boy wailed….

Bucky shot up in bed, drenched in a cold sweat. 

“Fuck,” he swiveled his neck, looking at his surroundings. 

Pale green walls….pictures of Steve and Kit and Liam and the rest. White bedspread. 

Steve and Kit’s guest room.   
“Fuck…” Bucky groaned, wiping a shaking hand over his sweaty face and pushing his hair back. 

Every part of his body was shaking, and Bucky gulped in air as if he had been the one with a metal hand around his neck. 

Bucky moved his hand from over his eyes and was surprised to see that he had been crying. 

“Oh god…” Bucky needed to get up, to leave, to make sure they were safe with him gone. 

But he just couldn’t get his legs to move. 

Fear shivered down his spine. 

He’d had nightmares over the years, but none had ever been this real, this vivid, and this personal. 

He’d never tried to kill Steve, or Kit, or Liam, or any of them in his dreams. 

He needed a drink.

Too bad he never got drunk anymore. 

On shaky legs, Bucky pushed himself from the sweat-covered bed and moved carefully and slowly into the kitchen. 

His hand shook as he poured water and drank it greedily. 

Leaning against the counter for support, Bucky’s eyes locked on a picture stuck to the fridge. 

Liam was only a toddler…two, maybe three. Sitting right in between Steve and Bucky at his first Cyclones game. All three looked so happy. And Bucky knew that Kit was grinning from behind the camera. 

Did his subconscious really want him to ruin that? Ruin the family that he had become a part of?

No. 

Bucky knew that this was where he wanted to be, where he was supposed to be. 

If he was going to ruin it, it would have been when he walked out of the hospital after Liam’s birth. 

But he had come back, and Steve had let him back in. Had never really kicked him out in the first place. 

Even Sam and Natasha, who had seen him at his worst, at his most brainwashed, had accepted him, and let him into their weird, patchwork family. 

And there was no way that he’d ruin that. 

He’d come so damn far in seven years, and obviously he had a long way to go. But, Bucky decided then and there standing in Steve’s kitchen that he wouldn’t give up on making himself normal again. 

His hands were still shaking, and he was still sweaty, but Bucky felt better than he had when he first woke up. 

He wasn’t going to sleep again, but three in the morning was too early to be awake, especially when he had another full day of entreating Liam ahead of him. 

Leaving his empty glass in the sink, Bucky pulled his damp t-shirt over his head, and went to swap it out for a fresh one. 

He quickly changed his shirt and boxers before making the bed. 

He still had another four hours before Liam even thought about waking up, and no desire to sleep again. 

Bucky dropped to the couch, spreading out and tucking one arm under his head. 

He shivered again, and pulled the blanket off of the back of the couch to toss over his legs. 

Bucky yawned as he scrolled through the recorded shows on Steve and Kit’s DVR. 

“The Office, it is,” he muttered, pressing play.

Liam woke up after 8, frowning when he realized he didn’t smell any pancakes. 

“Uncle Bucky?” he called out, waiting fro his uncle to come down the hallway and smile at him. 

When Bucky didn’t come, Liam rolled onto his stomach and slid off the bed, Black Widow action figure clutched tightly in his fist. 

“Uncle Bucky?” Liam called again. Maybe Uncle Bucky was playing a trick on him. 

Liam poked his head around his bedroom door, looking to see if Bucky was hiding in the hallway. 

Liam began to get worried…what if Uncle Bucky had to go stop a bad guy? 

He hurried down the hallway…skidding to a stop in the living room. 

“Oh,” Liam said, holding his action figure up to his face, “Uncle Bucky’s sleepin’. He musta been tired.”

Liam giggled as he inched closer to the couch, “And he snores like Daddy.”

Liam plopped to sit on the floor right next to Bucky’s head. 

Bucky’s metal hand hung to the floor while his other hand was draped over his eyes. His legs were tangled in the blanket. 

Liam sighed, he really wanted to play. 

But, he remembered Daddy saying, sometimes he had to let the ‘dults sleep cause they had very ‘ficult jobs. And even Mommy had to sleep sometimes, even though she didn’t fight bad guys. 

“Night-night Uncle Bucky,” Liam whispered (not at all), and tucked his Black Widow action figure next to Bucky’s arm. 

Leaving his uncle asleep on the couch, Liam walked into the kitchen and started opening and closing cabinets. 

He knew that Mommy kept his favoritest cereal in a cabinet he could reach. He just couldn’t remember which one. 

“This one?” he wondered, sticking his head into a cabinet filed with pots. 

“Nope.”

He systematically worked his way through all the cabinets, finding his Cocoa Pebbles in the cabinet next to the fridge.   
Lima dropped to the floor and stuck his hand in the box, eating Cocoa Pebbles by the handful. 

A minute or two later it occurred to him to bring Uncle Bucky breakfast. 

Awkwardly getting to his feet while still holding onto the box, Liam spilled more than enough Cocoa Pebbles on the floor. 

“Oops,” he giggled, crunching them under his bare feet and then tracking the chocolate crumbs into the living room. 

“Hey, Uncle Bucky,” Liam patted Bucky’s cheek with his hand, “I maded breakfast.”

Liam patted Bucky’s cheek again, and this time Bucky opened his eyes. 

He looked frightened for a minute, but once his eyes focused on Liam, he calmed down. 

“Hey, buddy. Whattaya got there?” Bucky blinked a few times, unable to believe that he had actually fallen asleep again. He shifted and the arm of an action figure poked him in the side. 

Bucky smiled as he pulled the Black Widow figurine out form under his arm. Man, he loved this kid. 

“Pebbles,” Liam supplied, shaking the box, and then climbing up onto the couch. 

Bucky shifted and sat up to let Liam sit next to him. He stuck his hand in the box and pulled out a handful. 

Uncle and nephew sat in relative silence, eating Cocoa Pebbles for a few minutes, staring at the cartoon that had started to play on the TV. 

“What should we do today, pal?” Bucky asked. 

Liam thought for a minute, “DINOSAURS!”

Bucky laughed, “National History Museum it is.”

Bucky took the box of cereal from Liam, “Go brush your teeth and get dressed. I’ll make some bacon; you’ll never make it until lunch with just a few handfuls of cereal.”

Liam nodded, “Make me lots and lots of bacon.”

Bucky ended up making almost a full pound of bacon. Mostly because the microwave still gave him some problems. 

“Uncle Bucky, is the bacon ready?” Liam rested his chin in his hands and leaned his elbows on the counter. 

“In a minute…go put your sneakers on,” Bucky said, punching in a few buttons on the microwave. 

“Can I eat while we walk?” Liam asked, shoving his feet into the wrong shoes.

Bucky shrugged, “I don’t see why not. If it gets us to the museum faster.”

Bucky sat on the floor to switch and tie Liam’s sneakers while the bacon finished cooking. 

“I can eat super fast!” Liam grinned. 

He jumped up and raced into the kitchen, imitating the beeping of the microwave. 

“It’s ready!” he shouted, unaware that Bucky was standing right behind him. 

“I got it, pal,” Bucky pulled out the tray of bacon and let it cool for a minute before dumping it into a Ziploc bag, “Okay, we are ready to go.”

Liam munched on bacon slices as the left the building, holding his hand out every time he wanted a new piece. 

They were standing at the corner, waiting to cross, when Liam squealed. 

“What is it?” Bucky looked around, immediately on guard.

“It’s a puppy!” Liam giggled, petting the dog that had come up behind him and snatched the dangling piece of bacon from his hand, “And he eated my bacon.”

“Oh, geez! I’m so sorry about that,” a very feminine voice called out. 

Bucky pulled Liam away from the small dog, “Buddy, you can’t just pet dogs without asking.”

Liam nodded, and asked the dog, “Can I pet you?”

Bucky held back a snort of laughter, but the dog’s owner giggled. 

Bucky looked up at her and made eye contact. 

She was pretty. Really pretty. 

And he was pretty sure he hadn’t felt the nervous tingling in his palms in decades. 

“Sorry about him,” Bucky shrugged, “He’s…”

When Bucky couldn’t find a suitable adjective for his nephew, the woman supplied, “Funny? Adorable? Tugging on my dog’s ears?”

Bucky blinked as he words registered, “Oh, shit. Liam, buddy, you have to be nice with dogs.”

Liam looked up at his uncle, wide eyed, “He likes it.”

Bucky shook his head, “He doesn’t like it. Do you like it when Uncle Clint tugs on your hair?”

Liam’s mouth turned down in a scowl, “No.”

“Well, you’re basically pulling on the dog’s hair. Stop it.”

Liam sighed, “Fine,” and went back to petting the dog’s head, and letting it lick his face. 

“He won’t do it again,” Bucky said to the woman, “He get’s excited sometimes.”

She smiled, “Not a problem. Bart is a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel, they’re great with kids.”

“Bart?” Bucky asked; the dogs he had been around in the 40s were usually called Max, or Spot. 

She blushed a little, “His full name’s Bartok…you know, like the little bat sidekick in the movie Anastasia? But I call him Bart, for reasons.”

“Anastasia?” Bucky winced, wishing he didn’t sound so clueless. But Anastasia hadn’t been on any of the movie lists – oh, no, wait. He vaguely remembered it form Natasha’s life. 

“Yeah, cartoon from the nineties? Meg Ryan voiced the lost Romanoff princess? Dimitri was too cute for a cartoon character? I’m saying way too much,” she laughed. 

Bucky shrugged, “Sorry…I’ve been...” 

He stopped. There was no way he could find an excuse for this one. 

Luckily, she waved her hand in the air, brushing the awkwardness away, “It’s fine. Either way, his name is Bart.”

Liam looked up, “That rhymes with fart,” and then giggled hysterically. 

Nameless girl laughed, “Yeah, it does. You’re pretty smart, kid. And Bart seems to really like you.”

“Hey! My Daddy and my Uncle Bucky call me kid,” Liam exclaimed, feeding Bart another slice of bacon. 

Turning to Bucky, she smiled, “You daddy or Uncle Bucky?”

Bucky laughed, “I’m Uncle Bucky. James. Bucky Barnes. I go by a few different names.”

She raised an eyebrow, “Ooh, intrigue. Multiple aliases…very intense scruff going on…hair that’s a little too long, no offense. Do I have an international spy standing right in front of me?”

Bucky laughed, slightly uncomfortable at how close ‘spy’ actually was to his ‘job description’, “Uh, no. Not exactly.”

“Uncle Bucky fights bad guys,” Liam supplied helpfully. 

“Thanks, buddy,” Bucky muttered. 

“Bad guys, huh?” she asked in a teasing tone, “One of New York’s finest, then?”

But before Bucky could answer, she gasped a little, “Oh, shit. I’m an idiot. You literally said your name. New York’s finest? Pft, I’m an idiot. You’re one of the Avengers.”

Bucky nodded, “Yeah…well I’m not. No, you know what? I am one of the Avengers.”

Bucky liked saying that, and he liked hearing that he was part of a group. Part of something bigger. 

“Sorry about the spy and long hair cracks. Sometimes I don’t think before I talk,” she laughed. 

Bucky shook his head, “It’s fine. My hair is getting a little long.”

Liam tugged on Bucky’s jacket, “Can we go see the dinosaurs now? I think Bart falled asleep.”

Both adults looked down at the dog, which was, in fact, asleep on the sidewalk. 

“Ugh,” she muttered, grunting as she lifted the dog into her arms, “He’s like narcoleptic or something, I swear. Falls asleep everywhere.”

“Could be the seven pieces of bacon he just ate,” Bucky held up the empty Ziploc bag, “Sorry about that.”

“Aw geez, I’m sorry. He’s an animal, incapable of turning away food,” she winked. 

Bucky’s stomach flipped and in that moment he found it hard to believe that he used to be considered a ladies’ man. Right now he felt a little bit like an awkward teenager. 

“Everybody says I eat lots of food,” Liam said, bouncing from foot to foot, “Maybe you should name him Liam, after me!” 

She smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corner, “Well, Mr. Liam, Bart here is already used to his name. But I’ll tell ya what. If I ever get another dog, I’ll name him Liam.”

Liam grinned happily, “It’s a good name.”

“A great name!” she laughed, “I’d better let you and your uncle head off to those dinosaurs. They might run away!”

Liam giggled, “Dinosaurs can’t run away! They’re stuck to the ground.”

Bucky watched as the woman hit her forehead with her palm. 

“Of course! How could I be so silly?”

“Sometimes my grown-ups are silly. Even though they look ser’us,” Liam said. Bucky shook his head; Liam had a habit of referring to the Avengers and the others that he saw on a semi-daily basis as his ‘grown-ups.’ It was pretty funny actually.

Liam cocked his head and regarded Bart’s owner, “But you’re silly. And pretty. You should kiss Uncle Bucky like Mommy kisses Daddy.”

Bucky winced, “Liam, buddy. That’s not a polite thing to say. You can’t just tell people to kiss other people.”

“But she’s pretty,” Liam stomped his foot, as if that explained it all. 

“That still doesn’t make it okay,” Bucky grumbled, lifting Liam up onto his hip. 

“It’s okay. I love having toddlers call me pretty,” she laughed, “That’s the only reason I became a kindergarten teacher. Well that and the fabulous macaroni art they make me for holidays.”

Liam poked Bucky’s cheek, “I maded Mommy and Aunt Nat and Aunt Betty ‘roni art.”

Bucky nodded, “Yeah, you did, and they loved it.”

Liam looked at the woman, “I’m good at ‘roni art.”

She laughed, “I bet you are. Hey, maybe when you’re old enough for kindergarten, you can come to my class and we’ll make a ton of macaroni art.”

Liam nodded, “Yeah! I like you.”

Bucky bounced Lima in his arms, “Glad you like her, buddy, but maybe we should get going? I bet…” he paused, realizing that he didn’t know the woman’s name, but she knew both his and Liam’s. 

Bucky mentally cursed himself. She was nice, and pretty, but he hadn’t even thought about that fact that she was complete stranger on the street. 

The woman shook her head and adjusted Bart in her arms, “Sorry…that one’s on me. I never introduced myself.”

Moving Bart to be held under her left arm, she stuck out her hand, “Carter Davis.”

Bucky moved Liam to his left hip and shook her hand, “Nice to meet you.”

Liam crinkled his nose, “Carter’s a boy’s name. My friend in pea school is named Carter.”

Carter laughed, “I know. My dad really wanted a son. And I was the fourth daughter.”

“It’s nice,” Bucky said, lips turning up into a smirking smile. 

“Thanks,” Carter smiled happily. 

“Well, it was nice to meet you, Carter,” Bucky liked the way her name sounded in his voice.

“You too, Bucky,” he really liked the way his name sounded in her voice, “And you too, Liam. Maybe we’ll meet again.”

“Can you make sure Bart doesn’t sleep? I wanna play fetch with him,” Liam said, leaning forward to pat the dog’s head one more time. 

Carter laughed, “Bart looooves fetch. How about we meet up after lunch in Central Park? You and Bart can play fetch.”

Liam stuck his face close to Bucky’s, “Can we? Please? Please? Pleeeeeaaase?”

Bucky laughed, “If that’s what you want to do.”

Liam nodded, “It is! I really do! I wanna play fetch with Bart!”

Carter smiled at the interaction, “I’ll give you my number and we can meet up when you guys have time.”

Bucky nodded, and slid his phone from his pocket, giving it to Carter, “We really don’t have to do this. I can distract him with an ice cream bribe.”

“Hey, I suggested it. And besides, you’re a superhero, what are the odds that you murder me and leave me in the Park?”

Bucky winced, remembering his dream. 

Carter handed him back his phone with a smile, “Just kidding. But really, I don’t mind. Spending all my time with kindergarteners, doesn’t really leave me a lot of time to hang out with adults. And you seem like a nice guy.”

She blushed, “And oh my god, you probably think I’m flirting, or like trying to latch onto an Avenger for, like, publicity or something. I swear I’m normal.”

“Trust me,” Bucky laughed, “None of us are normal, so it’s fine.”

“I’m normal!” Liam said, feeling left out of the conversation. 

Carter ducked her head, smiling, “Maybe I’ll see you later then?”

Bucky nodded, “Maybe you will.” 

Liam waved as they crossed the street, “Bye Carter! Bye Bart!”

Carter waved back, “Bye Liam!”

Bucky smiled the rest of the walk to the Museum. 

Carter Davis. And Bart the dog. 

Not even 11 and they day was already shaping up to be a good one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I know I say it every time, but I really love this chapter. So, now you've been introduced to Bucky's love interest for this Liam'universe, Carter Davis. I have to give credit to my sister for her first name. And if you guys can name the character from Sebastian's body of work that she's named after, I'll give you a cookie and a sneak peek of the next chapter.
> 
> I really, really, really hope you love Carter as much as I do (and as much as Bucky will). Please leave me reviews so I know that you guys are thinking. I really appreciate them =D


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm a jerk. I know this chapter took too long to get to you guys. I've been working full time, and it's hard for me to write when I get home at 8 o'clock. But I will make a better effort to get these chapters to you with less of a wait. As a reward for being so patient, this is the longest chapter yet! I hope you guys enjoy it, and please, leave a review =)

Carter Davis.

Bucky couldn't get the woman out of his mind.

And it was driving him crazy.

His phone was burning a hole in his pocket, his fingers itching to type a message to her.

"You're slow!" Liam moaned, dragging Bucky by the metal hand.

"Sorry, pal," Bucky shook his head to clear the fog, "Let's go see the dinosaurs."

Bucky happily followed Liam to the dinosaur exhibit in the Natural History Museum. Liam knew exactly where his favorite dinosaur, the T-Rex, was.

"He's so BIG!" Liam grinned, tugging on Bucky's hand.

"Wanna take a picture with it? We can send it to your mom and dad," Bucky said, pulling his phone from his pocket.

Liam smiled cheesily and posed in front of the dinosaur skeleton.

"I wanna see!" Liam exclaimed, running forward and tugging on the phone to see his picture.

Liam smiled, "I look silly. Mommy and Daddy are gonna love it. Send it!"

Bucky nodded, taking his phone back from the kid, "You got it, Captain."

Bucky kept one eye on Liam as he skipped away to stare at the T-Rex skeleton and quickly tapped out a text to Steve.

~bought this for the kid...think it'll fit in his room? ~

Bucky dropped his phone into his jacket pocket and moved to stand behind Liam.

"I bet he could eat the whole Tower," Liam breathed.

Not entirely true, Bucky thought. That weird alien they'd fought a year or two ago? Now that thing could've and would've eaten the Tower.

But he wasn't about to tell Liam that.

"Yeah, buddy. I bet it could. Don't think Uncle Tony would be too happy though."

Liam shook his head, "Nope! Uncle Tony would be so angry! His whole face would be red! Like when me and Uncle Sam 'cidentally smushed up his project."

Bucky remembered that. Tony had exploded. Liam had burst into tears and Sam had been shocked in the explosion, so his wings set off sparks for a month afterwards.

"Hey Uncle Bucky?" Liam was looking at the skeleton, head cocked, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Yeah, buddy?" Bucky sounded wary. He knew that tone. Nothing good followed that tone.

Liam took a step towards the skeleton, "Think I can climb it?"

Liam was darting forward, causing Bucky to lunge forward and grab the back of his shirt.

"No way, kid. Not for climbing."

Liam scowled, "How come?"

"Because it could break," Bucky explained, maintaining his iron grip on Liam's shirt.

"What if I'm real careful?" Liam asked, relaxing into Bucky's grip.

"It could still break. Remember how you told me that the dinosaurs are really old?"

Liam nodded, so Bucky continued, "Well, old things break really easily and can't be put back together."

"Oh," Liam accepted Bucky's explanation, and sagged against his leg, "I really wanted to climb it though."

Bucky wanted to respond, to try and make him feel better, but his phone buzzed with a text, so he let go of Liam's shirt for a minute to reply.

~~buy it and it's staying in your room~~

Bucky snorted, but didn't respond to Steve's message.

"Wanna go check out the cavemen?" Bucky suggested, much to Liam's excitement.

"Oh yeah! They fighted dinosaurs, Uncle Bucky. Didja know that?" Liam perked up immediately.

"No," Bucky laughed, "I didn't. Tell me about it..."

Liam chattered on happily about epic battles between dinosaurs and cavemen, and Bucky thought he heard the kid mention something about giant rock people.

"I'm hungry," Liam whined, dropping to the floor and grabbing at the hem of Bucky's jeans.

Bucky was well aware of the moms giving him judgey looks as they passed by.

"I know, buddy," Bucky dropped to one knee, "I think we've seen enough of the museum, huh?"

Liam nodded, face scrunched up as if he were going to cry, "I like the dinosaurs, but they make me tired."

Bucky tugged on Liam's hands, and got the boy to hook his arms around his neck, "Come on, Dinosaur Leader. I'll carry you to lunch."

Liam rested his head on Bucky's shoulder, "Okay."

"What do you want for lunch?" Bucky asked, carrying Liam out of the museum, and nodding to the older security guard.

"Surprise," Liam grumbled.

Bucky frowned. Where the hell was he going to find an appropriate surprise lunch that this crazy little kid was going to like?

Standing on the steps of the Museum of Natural History, Bucky found his answer.

"How about hot dogs?" Bucky asked Liam, setting the boy down on his feet.

Liam squinted at his uncle, and then smiled, "Yeah! Mommy never lets me have them!"

Bucky winked, "Then we won't tell her."

Liam giggled and grabbed ahold of Bucky's hand, leading the way to the hot dog cart on the sidewalk.

Liam grabbed onto the edge of the cart and poked his head up, "Can I order?"

Bucky nodded, "Go ahead."

The older man behind the cart smiled at Liam, "What can I get you, son?"

Liam rubbed his hand under his nose while he thought, "Two hot dogs! With extra dinosaur sauce," he giggled hysterically.

The hot dog vendor looked at Bucky, extremely confused, "Dinosaur sauce?"

Bucky nodded, "It's…uh…what he calls ketchup."

The older man nodded, and held up the red ketchup bottle, "Well, then, I'd better put some dinosaur sauce on these dogs."

Liam grinned, loving that the man was playing along.

Bucky traded a few bills for the two hot dogs and thanked the man, before shepherding Liam over to the steps of the Museum.

"Eat up, pal," Bucky said, handing Liam one hot dog.

"Daddy says I'm 'possed to chop the hot dog into little tiny bits," Liam said, looking at the hot dog and bun in his hand dubiously.

"Just chew really carefully and take small bites," Bucky said, praying that Liam wouldn't choke.

Liam shrugged and took a tiny bite off the end of his lunch. Bucky watched him as he chewed carefully and swallowed.

"It's good!" he exclaimed, smiling.

Bucky smiled around his mouthful of hot dog and swallowed, "Glad you like it, pal."

Bucky stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned back against the step on one elbow. He finished his hot dog in a few bites, while Liam took much longer.

Bucky people-watched while he waited for Liam to finish. Steve had always been the artist, drawing anything and everything he saw, but Bucky liked to look at the people around him and imagine what their lives were like.

Sometimes they were better than his, and sometimes they were worse.

Like the woman crossing the street, a dozen shopping bags in hand. She was aware of her husband's affairs, so she planned on spending as much of his money as she could before they divorced.

But the man walking down the street, a smile on his face? He had just become a father.

The teenager skateboarding by was skipping class. Probably off to some girl's house.

Bucky watched people and tried not to think about his own father and his history. It was easier when he remembered the new family he had.

And the perfect reminder of this family was Liam shouting, "HEY! IT"S BART!"

Bucky's head snapped sideways so fast he was sure he'd break it. Bart meant Carter.

"Where?" he asked Liam.

The four-year-old was pointing to a dog on the corner of the street, "There!"

Bucky followed the dog's leash to it's owner and he deflated. That spaniel belonged to an older woman. Not Carter.

"Sorry, buddy. Not Bart," Bucky said, reaching over to wipe ketchup from Liam's face. How the hell did the kid get ketchup on his forehead?

Liam looked crestfallen, "Oh. I thought it was Bart. He looks just like him."

"A lot of dogs look like other dogs," Bucky explained.

"Can we see Bart?" Liam asked, stretching his little legs out so they matched Bucky's position.

Bucky's stomach flipped, "I guess so. But if Carter is busy, then we're not going to see her and Bart, okay?"

Liam nodded, already distracted at the thought of seeing his new canine best friend.

With slightly shaking hands, Bucky shot off a text to Carter.

Is Bart up for getting his ears pulled some more?

It felt like an eternity for her response to come through.

Oh yeah! Bart's been asking me when he can see Liam again haha

Bucky smiled at the phone. Liam leaned over and looked at the screen, "What's it say? I can't read."

"Carter says that Bart can't wait to see you," Bucky laughed.

"Oh man! I can't wait to play fetch with him," Liam wiggled in his spot.

"Should I tell her to meet us in the Park?" Bucky asked.

Liam nodded, "I need lots and lots of space to throw the ball!"

Bucky was nodding as he texted, Central Park? What time's good for you?

Carter's response was quicker this time, 10 mins? I'm a few blocks away

Meet you at the gazebo.

Bucky stood up from the steps, "You ready to go, little man?"

"Ready freddy!" he giggled, using the phrase that Clint had taught him a few weeks ago.

Bucky took the hand that Liam offered him, and they started down the steps.

They only made it down two before Liam jumped back with a scream.

"What?" Bucky's knees were partially bent, ready to attack the threat.

"It's a pigeon..." Liam was pointing at the offending bird, clutching desperately at Bucky's hand and half hiding behind his legs.

Bucky shook his head. They were really going to have to move Liam past this pigeon phobia.

But for now, he lifted Liam onto his hip and kept walking, Liam screaming when the pigeon flew up and away from them.

Liam had somehow moved while they were walking, so now he was resting against Bucky's back in piggy back style.

"There's Carter! And Bart!" Liam shouted, thrusting his hand out and pointing ahead of them.

Bucky nodded, "Yeah, there they are."

"Let me down," Liam kicked Bucky in the hipbone and slid to the ground.

Bucky went to grab Liam's hand before he could run off, but he was too fast.

Bucky watched as Liam darted around a few people and collided with Carter's jeans-clad legs.

He jogged forward to catch up to his nephew.

When Bucky reached them, Liam was already on the ground, letting Bart lick his face.

They looked like they were having a blast.

Bucky grinned at Carter, "Good to see you again."

She smiled back, "It's like we never parted ways."

Liam reached out and tapped Carter's ankles, "Where's Bart's toy? I wanna play fetch with him."

Carter grinned, "Comin' right up, kid."

She thrust her oversized leather bag into Bucky's arms and started rummaging through it.

Bucky watched, fascinated, as she sorted through pens, notebooks, loose bills, make-up, human (and dog) treats, and a tangle of cords before she unearthed a tennis ball.

"Bart's favorite," she laughed, handing the tennis ball to Liam.

Liam immediately jumped up and started teasing Bart with the ball.

Carter dropped to the grass and stretched her legs out. She looked up at Bucky, "Gonna stand there all day?"

Bucky dropped down next to her, and leaned back on his elbows.

"I'm a soldier. We stand a lot," he shrugged, his mouth quirked into a half smirk.

Carter smiled softly, "Even soldiers have to take a day off."

Bucky watched Liam toss the ball for Bart, "I'm using my day off right now."

Bucky could feel Carter's eyes on him.

"Really? Avengers only give one day off a week?"

Bucky laughed, "Not exactly. We don't all go to every threat. Right now just three of them are out. But Steve and his wife are in Connecticut, so even though I was supposed to not be doing anything yesterday and today, I'm on babysitting duty."

Bucky paused. He couldn't remember the last time he had offered up so many words at one time.

Carter didn't seem to notice that he was suddenly uncomfortable, "Well I think you're a good man for it. Kids are the greatest thing ever and I don't understand people that don't like them."

Bucky frowned, "That sounds kind of loaded."

She sighed, "Yeah, sorry. It's just...I don't want to like, unload on you. Forget it."

Bucky nodded, "I get it if you don't want to talk. But my best friend's wife is a therapist, so I've learned how to listen."

He smiled at her and was thrilled when she smiled back.

Carter scratched at the side of her nose while she composed her thoughts. Bucky resisted the urge to stare at her, and instead watched as Bart deposited a slobbery ball into Liam's waiting hands.

"It's my boyfriend," Carter finally said, and Bucky's heart sunk right to his ankles.

Of course she had a boyfriend. Someone that beautiful and funny and smart would be taken.

Bucky schooled his features into a blank mask.

Carter continued, "We've been together for- let's see. I'm almost thirty, and I met him when I was twenty-two? So like about eight years. That's a long time, right?"

Bucky nodded, "Long time. Most couples are married after that long."

Carter's lips turned up into a wry smirk, "You'd think. But Tim and I...we have...issues."

Bucky tried, he really tried, not to get his hopes up.

"Issues?" He raised an eyebrow, hoping he sounded concerned.

She nodded, "He's a decent guy. But I the past few years...it's...we've been fighting so much. He doesn't want kids, I do. I barely want to talk to him anymore. I mean, we haven't had sex in months. And I don't even want to."

Bucky's eyes widened, and Carter caught his look.

"Oh shit, I overstepped a little, huh? You definitely don't want to hear that much detail about my love life. Especially since we literally met this morning," she shook her head, laughing slightly, "It's a product of being the youngest of four. When someone says they'll listen, I talk like there's no tomorrow."

Bucky wanted to move the conversation away from Carter's boyfriend, even though it sounded like they weren't going to last much longer.

"It's fine," he said, "So, what are your sisters like?"

Carter laughed, and then seeing Bucky's confused face, clarified, "Sorry, not you. It's Bart and Liam. Look."

Bucky looked over to his nephew and couldn't help but laugh.

The roles had been reversed. Bart was now kicking the tennis ball away, and letting Liam run to get it and bring it back.

"They're all going to love this," Bucky muttered, pulling out his phone and recording the interaction for a few minutes.

He sent it off to all of the Avengers, hoping that it might bring a smile to Kit's face at least.

"You must really love him," Carter said.

"Who?" Bucky asked, dropping his phone to the grass.

"Liam," she explained, "Both backgrounds on your phone are of him. Um, not that I was snooping or anything."

"You were completely snooping," Bucky laughed, "And I do. The kid is...uh...I wasn't in a good place before he was born. Having him around...it put some stuff into perspective."

Carter nodded, "The classic kid-magically-fixes-all solution. You switched it up by having your nephew fix all."

"I wouldn't say all," Bucky said, "But he fixed a lot."

"What were you like before?" she asked, carefully watching as Bucky's face hardened.

"You don't want to know," he said shortly, voice clipped.

Carter opened her mouth, but Liam and Bart came running over. Liam threw his body into Bucky's lap, letting his legs land in Carter's lap.

"Didja see me and Bart?" Liam reached up and grabbed Bucky's cheeks with his hands, forcing Bucky's attention on him.

"Yeah, pal. We saw. I even sent a video to everyone," Bucky ruffled Liam's hair.

"Oh. Good. Can I bring Bart home to show him to everyone?" Liam asked, getting comfortable and patting his leg so Bart would come.

"Liam, buddy, you know Bart isn't your dog, right? He has to go home with Carter," Bucky explained gently.

Liam looked at Carter with big blue eyes, "I thoughted Carter was comin' home with us."

Carter smiled softly, "Sorry pal. Not today. I have to get home and feed Bart."

"Can we stay out a little longer?" Liam gripped onto Bucky's shirt and pouted.

"We can stay, but Carter may have things to do," Bucky said, poking Liam in the stomach.

Liam wiggled his way over to Carter and settled himself in her lap with Bart.

"Carterrrrrrr," he sing-songed, "Can me and Bart keep playin'?"

Carter looked at Liam and then at Bucky.

"How on Earth does anyone say no to this face?" she asked.

"We don't," Bucky laughed, enjoying the way she scrunched up her face.

Liam tugged on the string of Carter's sweatshirt, "Are you gonna stay?"

Carter nodded, "Bart could use some more exercise. He's lazy. So sure, sweetie, we'll stay for a bit."

Liam fist pumped and pulled on Bart's collar, "Come on Bart! Let's gather treasure."

Bucky looked at Carter apologetically, "You didn't have to stay. He needs to get down for a nap soon anyway."

Carter waved him off, "I'm finding that I really like spending time with you two. Weirdly enough."

"Good to know," Bucky smiled, "Because if Liam has any say in the matter, he'll be hanging out with Bart everyday."

"If I get to hang out with his cool Uncle Bucky, then Liam can hang out with my dog," Carter smiled.

Bucky knew she probably didn't mean to sound like she was flirting, but he'd be damned if his stomach didn't flip.

He was a little tongue tied, but managed to ask, "You a native New Yorker?"

Carter shook her head, "Nope. I was born in Vermont. I moved to the city for college, NYU, and I never left. I am not a small town girl. You?"

"Brooklyn, born and bred," Bucky said, proudly. He'd always been happy with his heritage. Being a Brooklyn boy made people respect him a little bit more.

Carter grinned mischievously, "I can see it. You've got that grungy, Williamsburg, hipster-y vibe about you, Barnes."

Bucky scowled, "There was nothing hipster-y about Williamsburg when I was growing up. And I'm wearing clean, un-ripped clothes. How am I a hipster?"

"Ah, right….I am dealing with a cranky old man," Carter giggled, "Thanks for reminding me."

"I'm not cranky!" Bucky muttered.

"So you don't deny old, then?" Carter nudged his foot with hers.

Bucky shrugged, "I'd be a liar if I did."

"Well, good thing you didn't. I don't like liars," Carter looked down at her phone, frowned and shoved it into her bag, "Sooo…what was Williamsburg like when you were growing up, if not a hipster haven?"

"It was…not good," Bucky said, remembering back to what the area used to be like, "A lot of crime. Drugs. Nothing good."

Carter nodded, "Doesn't sound fun."

"It wasn't. But Steve and I…we did our thing. We had some good times," Bucky stared out at Liam, noticing just how much the boy looked like his dad.

"Ah, Steve. Captain America himself. Is he really as patriotic as the tabloids make him out to be?" she smiled.

Bucky grinned wryly, "Do you mean the article that said he makes up as Pledge Allegiance to the flag before breakfast?"

Carter cracked up, "That's the one!"

"Completely untrue," Bucky laughed, "He does have an absurd collection of flag printed clothing, though."

Carter laughed, and Bucky was thrilled that he was the one to cause her to laugh.

"Uncle Bucky…" Liam shouted, scaring a few birds from the trees.

Bucky raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, pal?"

"I think I might want to go take a nap," he yawned, even though he looked like he was fighting it.

Bucky nodded, "Alright, little man. Say goodbye to Bart and Carter."

Liam wrapped his arms around Bart's neck and squeezed, "Bye Bart! I'm gonna miss you. I'll see you tomorrow."

Carter and Bucky shared a look.

"You are under no obligation to hang out with us again tomorrow," Bucky said, getting to his feet and holding out his hand for Carter.

Carter took his hand and let him pull her to her feet, "If you're desperate for something to do, or just want to hand out with my dog some more, give me a call. I'm kind of not busy."

She shrugged, even though she looked a little sad as she talked.

Bucky wondered what the story behind that was.

But before he could think about it anymore, Liam came barreling forward to hug Carter's knees.

"Thanks, Carter! I like Bart and you, even though you have a boy name," Liam pressed his cheek to her knees.

Carter sighed and winked at Bucky, "Well, you sure do know how to charm a girl, Liam."

Liam grinned, "Mommy says I'm a charmer."

"Mommy's right," Carter laughed.

"Hey! That's what Daddy says too!" Liam said, dancing a little in place.

"Then your dad's a smart guy too," Carter ran her fingers through Liam's hair, "Bye Liam."

Liam gave her knees one last hug, before running over and holding onto Bucky's leg.

Bucky hefted Liam up and into his arms, already sensing that Liam was going to doze off quickly.

"It was nice to see you again, Carter," Bucky said, giving her a smile and a tilt of his head.

Her eyes softened, and her cheeks turned a slight pink, "You too, Bucky. And really, don't hesitate to keep in touch."

"I won't."

She nodded and clipped Bart's leash on, before waving and walking away.

Bucky watched her leave, wishing she were coming with them.

"Let's head home, buddy," Bucky said, adjusting Liam in his arms.

"Okay," Liam yawned, "Don't let my treasures fall outta my pocket."

Bucky frowned, "Treasures?"

Liam nodded, "Put me down and I'll show ya."

Liam slipped out of Bucky's arms and started pulling things out of his pockets.

"Oh brother," Bucky muttered, as Liam started shoving small rocks, bits of twigs and grass into his hands.

"That's my treasure. I wanna show it to everyone," Liam yawned.

Bucky sighed, and put the "treasures" in his pockets, "Alright, Liam. I've got them."

Liam climbed back up into Bucky's arms and settled against his shoulder.

And that's how Bucky found himself carrying a sleeping toddler for several city blocks, his pockets clacking together with rocks and twigs.

He wouldn't have had it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N 2: Just as an aside, the bit where Liam wants to climb the dinosaur skeleton in the museum, is actually something that I wanted to do when I was his age. I was apparently ducking under the rope when my mom caught me.


	9. Chapter 9

Liam woke up as the elevator was moving towards Steve and Kit's floor of the Tower. 

"Are we home?" he asked, pressing his face into Bucky's neck. 

"Yeah, buddy. We're home," Bucky patted Liam's back gently, bending down to set him on his feet. 

"Oh," Liam said, shuffling out of the elevator and standing still while Bucky flipped through his key ring. 

"You hungry, little man?" Bucky said, unlocking the door. 

Liam shook his head and followed Bucky into the apartment. 

Bucky frowned as he registered the presence of several people that hadn’t been in the living room when they left. 

"Hey!" Liam exclaimed, noticing the sleeping adults on the couch, "My grown ups are here!"

He bolted forward and skirted around the couch, throwing himself onto Tony's lap. 

"Uncle Tony! You're home!" Liam patted Tony’s cheeks. 

Tony blinked sleepily, "Hey! My assistant! How ya doin'?"

Liam grinned happily when Tony pulled him into a tight hug and let him sit on his stomach, back leaning against Tony's propped up legs. 

"Uncle Bucky and I did so much stuff," Liam said, bouncing, "And I got treasure at the park!"

Tony let his eyes go properly wide, "Whoa! Treasure? You gonna share with your favorite uncle?"

Tony looked over at Bucky and shot him a playful grin. Bucky rolled his eyes and called to Liam, "Wanna show Uncle Tony your treasure?"

Liam nodded, "YEAH!"

He scrambled off of Tony's lap, digging a knee and then a foot into his stomach. Tony groaned. 

Liam held his hands out and Bucky deposited the rocks and twigs into his hands. 

Liam took careful steps back to the couch, so he wouldn't spill anything. 

Tony struggled into a sitting position and Bucky could see clearly how pale he was. The dark circles under his eyes and various scrapes across his face only served to show Bucky just how difficult the mission he Clint, Sam and Rhodey had just been on. 

Bucky felt bad that he hadn’t joined them. 

He watched as Liam dumped the rocks and twigs on Tony’s lap. 

“Liam! Man, this is some pretty cool treasure,” Tony exclaimed, his eyes lighting up, despite the fatigue that lined his face. 

Bucky admired the way that Tony interacted with Liam. When he had first joined the group, Tony had always struck Bucky as pompous, and slightly annoying. But the years had gone on, and Bucky grew to respect Tony Stark. 

In fact, the way that Tony interacted with Liam, made Bucky wonder why he and Pepper had never had children. Not that it was too late for them, but Bucky always wondered why Liam was the first to join the kid ranks. 

Of course, now Steve and Kit’s second baby, and Natasha and Clint’s baby, and one day, he hoped, his own child would join Liam. 

But for now, Bucky was happy to watch Liam. 

Liam, who was currently sitting next to Tony and shoving rocks into the man’s face. 

“This one looks like a fish,” Liam said, and Tony nodded. 

“It does,” he picked up another rock, “Hey, this one looks like my arc reactor.” 

Liam wrinkled his nose, “What’s that?”

Tony tilted his head, “Eh, I’ll explain later.”

“Okay,” Liam shrugged, “Uncle Tony, did you fight off all the bad guys?”

Bucky watched as Tony smiled crookedly and puffed out his chest, “All by myself, Liam. The old suit and I knocked ‘em right out of the sky.”

“Don’t lie to the poor kid, Tony,” Rhodey spoke up form the armchair he had been napping in, eyes still shut. 

Bucky barked out a laugh, and earned himself a glare from Tony. 

Liam poked Tony in the cheek before he could say anything, “Uncle Tony, what did the bad guys want?”

Tony sighed, “Well….bad guys like to cause problems for the good guys.”

“Like my grown-ups?” Liam asked, fiddling with a twig. 

Tony nodded, “Yeah, like your grown-ups. So me and the rest of your uncles, we had to go and stop them from making a big mess.”

“Oh,” Liam looked confused, “Like the mess that Mommy says I gotta pick up after me and Uncle Clint played with Legos?”

Tony thought about the collapsed buildings and ripped up streets that had been left after the minor alien attack they had dealt with. 

“Yeah, just like the mess you leave with Legos.”

Liam nodded, “I’ll come and help you pick up next time.”

He slipped off of the couch and ran into his bedroom, but Tony and Bucky were both still stuck on what he had said. 

Tony shook his head, “I don’t ever want him to see that mess. Him, or any other kids we add to this chaos.”

Bucky sighed, “Well, we agree on one thing, Stark. He’s getting damn perceptive.”

“We can’t keep him in stasis, right? Have a perpetual four-year-old around?” Tony said, moving stiffly off of the couch and going for the bar. 

Bucky stiffened, “You do know who you just suggested that to, right?”

Tony turned and smirked at Bucky, “You still hung up on that? Geez, Barnes, it’s time to let it go.”

Bucky scowled, Tony never missed a chance to reference the Disney movie about the ice queen in conversation. 

“Funny, Stark. Real funny,” Bucky rolled his eyes. 

Tony was about to reply when Liam came running back into the room. 

“Hey! I just ‘membered, it’s movie night! And all my people are here.”

Bucky nodded, but in all honesty he had forgotten about movie night. 

“What time is it?” Liam asked. 

“5:30,” Rhodey supplied from the armchair. 

Liam grinned maniacally, “That means dinner and dinner means pizza ‘cause it’s movie night!” 

He ran off, “I’m gonna tell everybody!” 

Bucky, Tony and Rhodey shared a look. 

“I’ve got the pizza,” Bucky said, moving for the drawer of take-out menus in the kitchen. 

“I’ve got Pep, Bruce, and the others,” Tony said, limping to the front door. 

“You guys got this, I’m gonna keep napping,” Rhodey grinned, shutting his eyes again. 

“Pizza’s here,” Maria called, handing the pizza boy several bills and taking the seven pies from his arms. 

“PIIIIIIIZZZZZZAAAAAA!” Liam screamed, being “flown” into the kitchen by Sam. 

Sam deposited Liam into his chair (specially made by Tony, with a higher seat so the kid could see over the table without using a babyish booster seat). 

Sam rubbed his hands together, “Me and Baby Cap are goin’ for the pepperoni. Right, kid?”

Liam grinned, “Pepp’oni!” 

Pepper laughed and handed Liam a slice, “Here you go.”   
Liam dug into his pizza without waiting for the others to get their slices, his face covered in sauce and grease within seconds. 

“Slow down, big man,” Clint reminded, “Don’t wanna choke.”

Liam nodded and started chewing on his bite of pizza with exaggerated slowness. 

“He’s hanging around you too much, Stark,” Natasha laughed, delicately biting into a slice of veggie-covered pizza. 

“Or not enough,” Tony countered, bringing several glasses to the table and filling them with water. 

“Bart likes pepp’oni,” Liam said through a mouthful of pizza. 

Everyone that wasn’t Bucky looked confused. 

“Who’s Bart?” Clint asked. 

“Imaginary friend?” Sam wondered. 

Liam shook his head, “Bart’s my best dog. We playeded fetch today.”

Pepper raised her eyebrow at Bucky, “A dog?”

Bucky shook his head, “We met this woman and her dog this morning. Liam played fetch with him in the park.”

Bucky could tell that they all wanted to comment, but (thank god) kept their mouths shut. 

Maria clicked her fingers together, “Is that the dog in the video you sent this afternoon?”

Bucky nodded, “I thought you guys would enjoy it.” 

“I want a dog!” Liam exclaimed, cheese dangling from his chin. 

Natasha wiped the cheese away and looked to Bucky, “You’re in charge of him this weekend, and you can handle that one.” 

Bucky nodded, “Thanks, Natasha.” 

She grinned wickedly, “Welcome.”

Bucky was acutely aware of everyone pretending to not pay attention to his conversation with Liam. 

“Buddy, we can’t just get you a dog when you want one. Your mom and dad have to say that it’s okay,” Bucky said, kneeling on the floor next to Liam’s chair. 

“But I want one,” Liam moaned, throwing his head back and dropping his partially eaten slice to the plate, “I neeeeeeed a puppy.”

Bucky rolled his eyes; of course he would have to deal with a meltdown over a puppy. 

“When your mom and dad come home you can ask them about a puppy,” Bucky suggested, “Now why don’t you finish your pizza?”

Liam kicked the leg of the table, “NOoooooooo….I wanna puppy! You’re the boss! Say I can have a puppy!”

Bucky shook his head, “I’m just in charge until your mom and dad come home. They make the final decision on a puppy, Liam. Not me.”

Crocodile tears began to roll down Liam’s cheeks, “It’s not faaaair! I just wanna puppy.”

Bucky stood up and lifted Liam from his seat, “If you don’t stop crying, you’re going to bed right now. And that means no movie night.” 

Liam’s fake tears stopped, but his lower lip still quivered, “I don’t wanna miss movie night.” 

Bucky nodded, “I know you don’t. That’s why you’re going to sit down and we’re all going to finish dinner.” 

Liam deflated and suddenly became dead weight in Bucky’s arms, “Okay. But if you kisseded Carter, Bart woulda been my puppy.”

Bucky’s heart skipped a beat, and he really hoped that none of the others had heard Liam’s reference to Carter. 

But as soon as he turned around and saw Natasha and Clint’s matching shit-eating grins, Pepper’s wide eyes, and Tony’s knowing smirk, Bucky knew he was in for it. 

“Okay, kid, finish up dinner,” Bucky sat Liam back in his seat, and the toddler dug back into his slice as if nothing had happened. 

Bucky slid back into his seat, shooting a glare around the room that dared them to ask about Carter. 

He knew he was too far removed from his Winter Soldier days to really pose any sort of threat, but Bucky could still tap into that anger and hatred and rage in order to give a good glare. 

Everyone looked away, save for Natasha and Tony. 

Bucky groaned internally. Of course, of course, those two wouldn’t be scared of him. 

He was, however, saved from any sort of interrogation by his ringing cell phone. 

One look at the screen told him it was Steve calling. 

“I’ll be right back,” He pushed back his chair, and pointed to Liam, “Finish dinner, pal, or no ice cream with the movie.”

Liam looked up from telling Sam all about playing fetch, and nodded. 

“Hey, punk, how’s Connecticut treating you?” Bucky said, leaning against the wall. 

He was far enough away from the kitchen that the noises of nine people talking wouldn’t interfere with his conversation but he could still see them. 

“Jeez, Buck, I can’t wait to get home,” Steve sighed. He sounded exhausted.

Bucky laughed, “Well, we don’t want you. Replaced you and everything.”

Steve snorted, “Good to know we’re missed.”

“How’s Kit? She okay?” Bucky asked, closing his eyes for a minute. 

Steve hummed into the phone, “She’s better. The morning sickness had her down for the count yesterday. Today it’s mostly the emotional stuff before the funeral tomorrow.”

“That’s good. She sleep last night?” 

“For a little bit. She was tossing and turning a lot,” Bucky could hear the frown in Steve’s voice, “This weekend’s been rough on her. She’s been trying to hide the pregnancy from her folks too. Doesn’t want them to know until after the first trimester.” 

“Sounds like it,” Bucky said, watching Natasha cut up a carrot for Liam to eat. She would be a good mom. 

“By the way, thanks for the video of Liam. Kit and I loved it. She cracked up watching it,” Steve said on a laugh. 

Bucky grinned, “I thought you’d enjoy it. The kid and I have been having a good time. He’s a great kid, Steve.” 

“We know,” Steve laughed, “He’s got good people around him. Also, whose dog was he playing with in the video.”

“That was…ah….Bart. We met him and his owner on the street and struck up a conversation,” Bucky said, choosing his words carefully. 

“And was his owner a woman?” Steve asked, even though he already sounded like he knew the answer. 

Bucky scratched at the side of his nose, “Yes. Carter.”

Steve made a noise of interest, but didn’t say anything further. Bucky was grateful for it. 

There was a noise on Steve’s end of the phone and the super soldier groaned, “I can’t wait to get back to New York.”

“What? You can handle Nazis and aliens, but not your in-laws?” Bucky teased. 

Steve groaned, “You know Kit’s father hates me.”

Bucky winced, he did know. 

“You’re America’s superhero, he hasn’t come around by now?” 

“I’m older than his father,” Steve deadpanned, “No, he hasn’t come around.” 

“How old’s his father?” Bucky asked. 

“He just turned ninety,” Steve sounded like he was muffled. 

“You sound weird,” Bucky commented, a grin lighting up his face as he had a revelation, “Are you hiding from them?”

Steve scoffed, “Not all of them. Just Kit’s dad.” 

“You’re insane,” Bucky muttered. 

But just then he caught a glimpse of the kitchen table out of the corner of his eye. Liam had his head thrown back, cackling maniacally as Sam and Clint told a story. Sam had his arms out and was mimicking the flight of a plane (or his wings, who knew?), and Clint was bobbing his head before flopping it to the side and sticking his tongue out, as if he were dead. 

“Correction, everyone in this Tower is insane,” Bucky said. 

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Steve laughed. 

There was a knock on Steve’s end, before Steve muttered, “Occupied.”

“Are you hiding in the bathroom?” Bucky laughed. 

“Jerk. I’ve already put up with subtle comments for two days now. I don’t know how much more I can take.”

“Steve, you’re being an idiot,” Bucky said. 

“I’m twelve years older than Kit’s grandfather,” Steve said, sounding agitated, “Of course I’m an idiot. There is no way I should’ve…”

Bucky rubbed a hand over his eyes. This conversation happened every time Steve dealt with his father-in-law for more than ten minutes. 

Bucky had met Liam O’Donnell exactly four times. Steve and Kit’s wedding. Liam’s birth. Liam’s christening. And Liam’s first birthday. 

Bucky did not like the man. At all. 

Steve had a point. The man was uncomfortable to say the least about Steve’s “technical” age. 

“You know how I took that knife to the side a few days ago?” Steve was saying. 

“What does that have to do with anything?” Bucky asked. 

“Plenty, after sitting in the car for hours, I was a little stiff,” Steve said, “So I grunted a little getting out of the car. There he is, commenting on my ‘old bones.’ What do I say to that?”

“Show him the knife scar?” Bucky suggested. 

Steve huffed, “I’m not that childish.”

“No you’re not,” Bucky grinned, “You’re 102.”

“If you’re not going to help…” Steve trailed off. 

“We go through this every time,” Bucky complained, “I have nothing else to say.”

“I know…but the comments annoy me every time I see him.”

Steve was so unused to people disliking him, post-serum. He and Bucky had tried to brainstorm ways to get the man to like his son-in-law, but nothing worked. 

“Did you tell Kit?” Bucky yawned. 

“I’m not going to bother her with this now,” Steve paused, “I have to go. Kit’s calling. Tell Liam we say hi?”

“Sure. We’re going to start movie night, so I don’t know if he’ll want to call before bed,” Bucky said. 

“It’s fine. Just make sure he knows we love him,” Steve covered the mouthpiece of his phone and called, “I’m coming, babe. Be a minute.” 

“Go, get out of hiding,” Bucky laughed, “Wait until Stark hears about this.” 

“Don’t you dare tell Tony,” Steve said before the call cut off. 

He wouldn’t tell Tony, but Steve knew that. 

“Movie time, movie time, movie time,” Liam chanted as he watched Bruce and Betty wash dishes. 

Bruce smiled softly at Liam, “Give us one minute, Liam. Why don’t you help set up the living room?”

Liam wiggled off of his seat and ran into his bedroom. 

Tony slammed open the door, “We bring provisions!” 

Pepper followed him into the kitchen, and they both deposited shopping bags on the table. 

“Finally,” Natasha said, appearing, seemingly, from nowhere, “I NEED my M&Ms.”

She started riffling through the plastic bags, emptying the snacks and drinks onto the table. 

“Y’all ready to start?” Sam called from the couch.

“What are we watching?” Pepper asked, settling next to Tony on the love seat and tucking her legs up under her butt. 

“Haven’t decided yet,” Bucky said, flipping through the On Demand movies.

“I’m not watching another one of those weirdo science-y documentaries,” Clint said, dumping popcorn into a bowl. 

Sam agreed, “Yeah, why do we let the scientists pick movies?”

Bruce put a tray of glasses onto the side table, “You all liked that movie.”

“Don’t think we didn’t see you two rewatching it the next day,” Betty laughed. 

Clint and Sam shared a look, and then said, “We don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“I’m ready!” Liam came skidding back into the room, slipping a little as his socks gained traction. 

He held his blanket in one hand, and three action figures in the other. 

“Where are you going to sit, obez'yana,” Natasha said, tucking her body against Clint’s side and tossing back a handful of popcorn and M&Ms. 

Liam stood in the middle of the room for a minute, weighing his options. 

He could wedge his little body in between Pepper and Tony on the love seat. 

Or he could sit with Rhodey, Sam and Maria on the couch. 

The overstuffed armchair that Bruce and Betty were sitting in was comfortable. 

But so was the pile of pillows that Natasha and Clint had claimed. 

“I wanna sit with Uncle Bucky,” he proclaimed, climbing up onto the La-Z-Boy and wedging his body next to Bucky’s. 

He was all pointy elbows and knees, and more than one plastic arm jabbed him in the side, but once Liam’s warmth settled, Bucky was more comfortable than ever. 

Natasha smiled and reached over to gently pinch Liam’s calf, “Good choice.” 

Bucky let one side of his mouth tilt up in a smile. 

“We still haven’t decided on a movie,” Tony said, hitting the side of Rhodey’s head with pieces of popcorn. 

“Stark, if you don’t stop that…” Rhodey let the threat hang. 

Tony let one more piece of popcorn fly, with a smirk firmly fixed on his face. 

“This movie that I wanted to see just—“ Natasha started. 

“No more Russian movies!” was the automatic reply. 

Natasha grumbled in Russian, but they all knew she was insulting their movie tastes. 

“Wait! Stop scrolling,” Tony commanded, his hand up in the sign for ‘stop.’

“What?” Bucky said, remote dangling loosely from his hand. 

“Go up two,” Tony directed, letting out a gleeful shout when the movie he was looking at lit up, “Aha! It does exist!”

“The American Hero?” Maria read the title, “What’s the about?”

Tony practically cackled, “Why, my dear Agent Hill, The American Hero is a movie made in the 1950s about our own Captain Steven Grant Rogers.”

Liam looked up from the mini battle he was staging with his action figures, “Daddy?”

Bucky tapped his arm, “Yeah, it’s a movie about your dad.”

“Oho!,” Tony continued, “Not just Steve. His best friend, Sergeant James Barnes also makes an appearance.”

Bucky winced, “Why do you want to watch this so badly? Won’t your dad be a part of it?”

Tony’s glee dimmed a little, “It won’t really be him, so I would love to see the way the media has chosen to portray Howard Stark.”

Pepper squeezed his arm. Tony put on a brave face, but seeing any incarnation of his dad was difficult. 

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Clint asked. 

“Yeah, start the movie,” Sam grinned, “I want to see what you and Steve were like.”

Bucky ordered the movie, “You know this isn’t going to be an accurate portrayal of us, right?”

“Shhh! It’s starting,” Rhodey waved a hand in the air. 

Bucky groaned and hugged Liam a little closer. 

Okay, so Cary Grant didn’t look anything like Steve. 

And, “Paul Newman is too cute to play Bucky!”

“Wow, thanks Natasha, for that.”

But, “Huh, Clark Gable really got the Howard Stark ‘stache down right.”

The movie wasn’t entirely accurate, Bucky tried to explain. 

He and Peggy had definitely never had anything going. But, after a while it became easier to just watch detachedly, to pretend that this wasn’t a movie about him and Steve and the Howling Commandos. 

It was a long movie, and slowly but surely, everyone began to fall asleep. 

Liam was the first to nod off. After asking questions non-stop about his father and what was happening in the movie, he fell asleep just before the Nazis kidnapped Paul Newman-as-Bucky. 

Bucky was glad for it, since he really didn’t want Liam watching what would happen next. 

It was hard enough watching when he knew the story had a (mostly, and very late) happy ending. 

By the time Cary Grant rescued Paul Newman (Bucky couldn’t think of them as Steve and Bucky), only Natasha, Sam, Tony and Bucky were awake. 

Bucky could feel their eyes shifting to watch him, gauging his reaction. 

“Hollywood over exaggerates,” Bucky muttered.

Sam whistled under his breath, “Somehow I think they under exaggerated this one.”

Bucky clenched his jaw and twitched his left arm as his movie counterpart fell off a moving train. 

Natasha, surprisingly, yawned deeply, “I’m tired. Let’s shut the movie off and get out of here.” 

Tony looked like he was about to protest, but he caught a glimpse of Bucky’s face and reconsidered, “This is clearly Hollywood schlock. I mean, Howard was not that skinny.”

Bucky nodded, acknowledging what they were trying to do. 

Sam shut off the movie, gathering the popcorn and candy bowls. 

Bucky shifted Liam into his arms, “Thank you.”

Natasha gave him a tiny smile, “sem'ya, ne tak li?”

Bucky gave her the same tiny smile, “sem'ya.”

And the word had never felt more right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi everyone! I have a few things to say about this chapter, but first, I really want to thank everyone for the wonderful response I've been getting to this story. I'm so grateful for every review, and for the conversations that have come from my replying.
> 
> So, first, Natasha's Russian translations: obez'yana = monkey, sem'ya, ne tak li? = family, right?, sem'ya = family.
> 
> Secondly, I'm a little on the fence about this chapter. I like a lot of it, but I'm unsure of Steve and Bucky's conversation in the middle. So if you guys could give me honest thoughts and reactions to it, I would be super grateful. I'd love constructive criticism as well =)
> 
> Thirdly, the time frame. Steve's age is never completely clarified. In Cap 2, he says something along the lines of , "I'm 95, not dead." So I go on the assumption that technically Steve is 95, but minus the 70 year freezing, he's 25. Since this story takes place about 7 years post Cap 2, I've aged Steve and Bucky to 32, plus the 70 years, would make Steve 102, like Bucky says. (Additionally, Carter is almost 30, and Kit is 31)
> 
> Fourthly (and, really, if you read all of this, God bless you), this week is going to be a tad crazy. My birthday is Wednesday, I'm going to a book signing on Thursday, I'm helping with my cousin's friend party on Friday and Saturday is mine and my cousin's joint family birthday party. So I won't have that much time to write. I will try my hardest to have a chapter ready to post come Sunday, but I just can't guarantee anything.
> 
> So…I really how you liked this chapter, and please leave a review =)


	10. Chapter 10

It took Bucky a long time to fall asleep that night. He tossed and turned, feeling too hot and too cold all at the same time.

He kicked his blankets to the floor; they were suffocating him.

His metal arm felt foreign to him. He wanted to rip it off and throw it, hard, at someone.

How had things changed so much? How had their lives become what they were?

Bucky sighed and tired to lie still in bed.

But he had too much energy. His legs twitched, itching to get up. To run away.

Watching that movie, as inaccurate as it had been, was a mistake.

Bucky scrubbed a hand over his face, closing his eyes.

"It was a long time ago, don't think about it," Bucky told himself.

He rubbed his hand over his metal forearm, the movement soothing him and finally, Bucky drifted off.

Bucky's eyes shot open.

His room was pitch black, but something was wrong.

There was a shuffling noise in the doorway of his room. Bucky was grateful that he had kicked the blankets away; he didn't have anything hindering him when he jumped up.

He swung a punch at the area where a grown man's head would be and met air.

Stumbling due to his momentum, Bucky frowned.

"Uncle Bucky?" A tiny voice said, and Bucky's guard immediately went down.

"Hey," he said softly, kneeling down and reaching out for Liam, "What's wrong?"

Liam sniffled, "I had a n-nightmare!"

He threw his little body into Bucky's arms and Bucky was startled by how badly he was shaking.

"Hey, it's okay. Liam, it's okay," Bucky held Liam tightly with one hand and rubbed his back with the other.

Liam's face was buried in Bucky's neck, and Bucky could feel tears. His neck was also getting kind of sweaty.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Bucky asked, shifting so he was sitting on the floor and leaning against the side of his bed.

Liam shook his head, fisting the fabric of Bucky's shirt tighter in his hand.

Bucky sighed; he knew exactly what the kid was going through.

"Sometimes it helps to talk," he said, squeezing Liam in a hug.

Liam mumbled something into Bucky's neck, but wouldn't loosen his grip.

"What'd you say, buddy?" Bucky asked, gently stroking Liam's hair.

If Bucky had stopped to think about it, he would realize that he was moving on autopilot. Bucky had never dealt with a kid having a nightmare before. His comforting Liam was coming from a subconscious place.

"I want Mommy and Daddy," Liam cried, curling up into a tight ball on Bucky's lap.

Bucky's heart broke for his little nephew.

"I'm sorry, pal. Mommy and Daddy are coming home tomorrow. I wish I could get them for you,"

"I want them now," Liam cried, his face turning red and tears dripping down his cheeks.

He hiccupped, his breathing shallow. Bucky winced; he knew that sound. He'd grown up listening to that sound.

"Hey, buddy. Try and take a nice breath," he tried to coax Liam into breathing normally, before a full-blown asthma attack hit.

"I feel funny," Liam wailed, crying even harder.

Bucky held tightly onto Liam and leaned over to pull open the drawer of his bedside table. Steve and Kit usually kept inhalers around the house, just in case.

Bucky retrieved the plastic tube, and held it up for Liam.

"Okay, breathe in, buddy. Just like your Dad showed you."

Liam's hands came up and covered Bucky's, holding the inhaler to his mouth.

Bucky kept a supportive arm around Liam's back while the kid got his breathing under control.

Bucky took a deep breath of his own; he knew Liam had occasional asthma attacks, but he had never had to deal with one on his own.

By the time he had met Steve, they were older and Steve could take care of his asthma on his own.

Watching four-year-old Liam struggle to breathe sent Bucky's heart lurching in his chest.

Steve and Kit were convinced that Steve's enhanced genetics would kick in eventually, but for now they were coping with Liam's occasional health issues.

Liam relaxed in Bucky's arms, dropping his hands and sighing.

"I don't like that," he mumbled, fiddling with the hem of Bucky's shirt.

Bucky dropped his chin to rest on the top of Liam's head, "I know, buddy, I know. Your Dad didn't like it either."

They sat on the floor, tucked together, for a long time. Bucky didn't want to move, just in case Liam freaked out again.

But eventually, light started to shine through the window.

Bucky blinked a few times and looked down at Liam. His blue eyes were wide open, and there were purplish shadows under his eyes.

"Hey, buddy, you want to try and sleep a little?" Bucky asked, rubbing his back.

Liam nodded, "But not in my bed. Scared."

Bucky nodded, "Got it. You can stay in here with me, okay?"

Liam sighed, and clung to Bucky's chest as Bucky stood up and sat on his bed.

With Liam still clinging to him, Bucky grabbed the blankets from the floor and shifted the pillows so he could lay back.

Bucky tucked his right arm up under his head and let Liam lie on his chest. He tucked the blankets around Liam's skinny shoulders.

"You comfortable, buddy?" Bucky asked, poking a finger into Liam's side.

"No," Liam murmured, yawning widely.

Bucky laughed, "Why don't you lay on the mattress then?"

Liam shrugged weakly, "Okay," and rolled off of Bucky's chest. He tucked himself closely against Bucky's side; one fist gripping tightly onto Bucky's shirt, and the other thumb stuck firmly in his mouth.

Bucky rubbed his hand over Liam's back, remembering that they were supposed to discourage the thumb sucking. But right now, Bucky figured that Liam needed it.

Soon enough, Liam's soft snores filled the room, muffled by the thumb in his mouth.

Bucky yawned, and shut his eyes, letting himself fall asleep now that he knew Liam was out.

Bucky woke up hours later, feeling more rested than he had in months. He looked at the clock on his bedside table.

11:30.

He hadn't slept that late in…a helluva long time.

Liam shifted in his sleep, and Bucky was suddenly very grateful for his metal arm. If he still had his real arm, it would have been numb beyond belief.

Liam had shifted during the night and was flung spread-eagle on the bed. The sheets were tangled in his little legs, one foot poking out.

Bucky saw a Captain America action figure clutched tightly in Liam's hand. How had he missed that last night?

Liam snorted in his sleep and a stream of drool was pooling on Bucky's shirt.

Bucky shook his head and brushed some of Liam's hair off of his forehead. Moving the blond bangs exposed a tiny bruise.

Where had that come from? Bucky wondered, and then remembered the collision with the wall Liam had before dinner.

"You're a mess, kid," Bucky muttered affectionately.

"Not a mess," Liam breathed out, eyes shut, "Cleaned m'Legos."

Bucky couldn't hold in the laugh.

"Stop," Liam commanded in a tired, little voice, "No shaking the bed."

Bucky smothered his laughter, "Right. I'm sorry."

"Good," Liam yawned, rolling over and blindly reaching out to pat Bucky's cheek. He missed and smacked his uncle in the nose, but it was the thought that counted.

"Do you want to get up and have breakfast?"

Bucky stretched, his feet reaching the edge of the bed.

"No," Liam mumbled into the mattress, "Sleepy."

Bucky nodded and closed his eyes; a few more hours of sleep wouldn't hurt.

Bucky's eyes opened again two hours later.

Liam had migrated again so he was half draped over Bucky's chest.

Bucky scrubbed at his eyes, it was definitely time to get up now. The gross taste in his mouth was bordering on hazardous.

Bucky slowly rubbed his hand up and down Liam's back, "Pal, come on. Time to get up."

Liam's eyes blinked open slowly and gained focus, "Up?"

"Yeah, it's already late in the afternoon," Bucky said, "Don't you want to do fun things today?"

Liam smiled sleepily, "Fun stuff. Let's go."

He tried to roll off of Bucky's chest, but his legs were twisted in the sheets and only managed to kick Bucky in the groin.

Bucky grunted in pain, and Liam looked up.

"Sorry?" he said, blue eyes wide.

"We're good, kid," Bucky muttered, sitting up and lifting Liam onto the floor.

Liam, his grip still tight on the Captain America action figure, rubbed his eye, "Cereal for lunch?"

Bucky grinned, "Cartoons too."

Liam happily trailed after Bucky into the bathroom and watched while his uncle shaved and brushed his teeth.

"Can I shave?" Liam asked, kicking his feet against the edge of the tub.

"When you get older, pal. You don't have anything to shave," Bucky said, dragging the razor over his cheeks.

"Oh," Liam said, fiddling with his action figure.

Bucky looked at his sad little face, and got an idea.

"Hey, come here," he gestured with a hand and knelt down.

Bucky squirted some shaving cream onto his hands and smeared it on Liam's cheeks.

"Try this," he gave Liam as comb from the medicine cabinet and dragged over the step stool so Liam could see his face in the mirror.

"Cool!" Liam exclaimed, "shaving" his face while Bucky finished up his.

When he was done, Bucky wiped up the leftover shaving cream and sent Liam to change in his room.

"Donald Duck is silly!" Liam giggled, spewing chewed up bits of Cap'n Crunch all over the couch.

Bucky nodded, "He is pretty funny."

They were watching a recorded Mickey Mouse cartoon. The animation had been updated, but Bucky remembered the characters from his own childhood.

"I never understood why he doesn't wear pants though," Bucky commented, shoveling a spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

Liam cackled, "Donald doesn't wear pants!"

Bucky laughed watching Liam laugh.

Liam held out his bowl for more cereal and Bucky topped it off with some milk.

"What else should we do today?" Bucky asked, finishing his bowl of cereal.

Liam shrugged, "I dunno."

He spilled his next spoonful of cereal onto his shirt, "Oops."

Bucky wiped up the food, but the milk left a small white stain on the black shirt. Bucky stared at the pattern on it for a minute.

Liam had informed Bucky that, "my grandpa got me this shirt 'cause of stars and I love it cause Uncle Thor is from the stars."

There was a constellation on the front, but Bucky had never seen it before. Not that he was a big fan of astrology.

Something tickled the back of his mind, but Bucky brushed it off.

It was already close to 3 o'clock. Which was good, because it gave Liam less time to dwell on the nightmare that had terrified him so much last night, and it gave him less time to miss Steve and Kit before they got home in the morning.

Steve.

Bucky got an idea about where he and Liam could go today.

"Want to go on a surprise?" Bucky asked, picking up the bowls and cereal and milk.

Liam perked up, "What kind of surprise?"

Bucky grinned, "Go change your shirt and you'll see."

Liam slipped off the couch and ran into his room. Bucky could hear drawers opening and being slammed shut.

Liam emerged a few minutes later, just as Bucky was sliding his arms into his jacket.

"Ready?" He asked, holding out Liam's tiny bomber jacket (a gift from Sam.)

Liam grinned and nodded eagerly, "I love s'prises!"

He laid his jacket on he floor, collar towards him. Bucky watched, fascinated, as Liam bent over, stuck his arms in the sleeves and flipped the jacket over his head.

"Ready!" he grinned up at Bucky.

"Where'd you learn that?' Bucky asked, shepherding Liam out into the hallway.

"Mommy teached me," Liam shrugged, running forward and smacking the elevator button, "Where's my s'prise?"

"You'll just have to wait and see," Bucky said, smiling mischievously.

Okay, so in hindsight, bringing a four-year-old, no matter how seemingly well behaved he was, onto public transportation all the way to Brooklyn was a bad idea.

"I'm tired," Liam wailed, digging his heels into the sidewalk and pulling on Bucky's arm.

"You slept for a really long time. You're not tired," Bucky countered, pulling him forward.

"I gotta peeeeeeeee," Liam moaned, wiggling around for good measure.

Bucky sighed, "You just went in Dunkin' Donuts."

"I gotta pee again," Liam said very seriously.

Bucky raised an eyebrow, and Liam wavered under the stare.

"Fine, I don't gotta pee. But this is a bad s'prise," he moaned, "There's not even a pony or a 'splosion."

"I think it's pretty cool," Bucky defended himself.

Liam sighed, "It's just buildings."

Bucky pointed, "Look, that's the building your Dad and I lived in when we were kids."

Liam regarded the brownstone dubiously, "Really?"

Bucky nodded, "Really. We had some good times."

"But now you live with me," Liam said, standing still for a minute.

Bucky nodded, "Yeah. Now I live with you."

"Is my s'prise over?" Liam asked.

Bucky sighed. Maybe he and Steve would just have to come back with Liam one day to explain the past.

"How about a different surprise?" Bucky asked, swinging Liam's arm.

Liam sighed, "I don't wannnnaaaaaa."

Bucky laughed, "This one is good. I promise."

Liam hung his head and traipsed after Bucky, not trusting that this surprise would be good.

"This s'pise is goooooodddd," Liam mumbled, mouth full of doughnut.

Bucky leaned back in his chair and took a rink from his take-out coffee cup.

"Glad you like it, pal," Bucky snapped a picture of Liam's chocolate covered face.

"This is the bestest doughnut in the whole world," Liam sighed, a look of pure happiness on his face.

Bucky laughed, "They are pretty good."

Bucky's doughnut was coffee and pecan flavored and better than any doughnut he'd ever had before, bigger too.

Liam was eyeing Bucky's doughnut, "Can I have a bite of yours?"

Bucky held the doughnut up and Liam chomped down on it.

And almost immediately he sit it onto a napkin, "Gross!"

"Didn't like it?" Bucky snorted.

Liam scowled, "I need another one to make my mouth taste better."

"Another one?" Bucky asked, "That one was as big as your head."

Liam nodded, "I'll get one and you get one and we can bring ones home to my grown-ups."

Bucky thought about the prospect of carrying two-dozen doughnuts on public transport.

"How about I just get more doughnuts for me and you?" Bucky stood up from the table.

Liam nodded, "I want another choc'late!"

"Stay here," Bucky said before heading to the counter. It was a small place so he felt comfortable leaving Liam at the table.

Bucky took his place behind a shorter guy with blonde hair.

The man ordered and then Bucky ordered.

Turning from the counter, Bucky's eyes landed on the table he had left Liam at.

He was gone.

"Shit!" Bucky cursed, "Liam? Where'd you go?"

He didn't care that his shouting was bothering the other customers.

Bucky's gaze scanned the place and his heartbeat quickened.

Fuck! Where was he?

Suddenly, Liam's familiar giggle hit Bucky's ears.

"Thank God," Bucky muttered, his eyes landing on Liam's green shirt.

Hurrying over, Bucky reached out and grabbed Liam's arm, "Liam, buddy, I thought I told you to stay at the table?"

Liam looked at Bucky, "I sawed Carter! I wanted to see Bart. But Bart's at home."

For the first time, Bucky looked up at the couple that was sitting at the table.

His eyes locked with Carter's blue ones and his stomach flipped.

She smiled and waved a little, "Hi."

Bucky half-smiled, "Hi. Uh, sorry about him."

Carter flapped her hand in the air, "Not a problem. I totally love this kid."

The man next to her, the blonde from the doughnut line, was scowling.

Bucky coughed, "I think it's time for us to head out."

Carter shook her head, "Please don't! Liam was telling me all about his silly uncles from dinner last night."

Bucky looked down at Liam, who nodded and said, "Yep! I'm telling Carter all 'bout Uncle Clint and Uncle Tony and Uncle Sam."

Bucky frowned, "That's great, pal. But I think we're interrupting Carter's time with…"

The blond man looked up from his phone, "Tim."

That was it. He didn't offer any more information other than his first name. Bucky nodded, "Right. Tim. Let's head home, and we can go to the park."

Liam bounced on the balls of his feet, "Park! Park! Park!" he chanted.

Tim scowled deeper as Liam got louder.

Carter giggled, but her eyes looked sad, "Well, if you have to go. But maybe we can hang out again soon?"

Bucky didn't reply, didn't want to look like he was after another man's girlfriend.

Liam threw his body into Carter's lap, "Bye Carter! Tell Bart I say hi!"

Carter promised that she would, and said goodbye to Bucky as well.

Tim didn't look up from his phone as Bucky and Liam walked away, but Bucky could hear him talking.

"I thought I said you can't talk to men unless I know them?"

Bucky's sudden and visceral reaction was to turn around and punch the douche in the face.

But Liam's hand in his stopped anything that Bucky would have done.

Bucky was more in his head than usual on the ride back from Brooklyn.

He knew it was bad.

He liked Carter. She was smart, and pretty, and funny.

But now he wasn't sure if he wanted to protect her because he liked her, or because Tim was an asshole.

He knew that the more he thought about it, the more he would want to ran back and slam fucking Tim headfirst into a brick wall.

Even Liam must've sensed something was off, because he was quiet on the train home, sitting quietly in Bucky's lap and taking pictures of the floor.

Stepping off the train and into the bustling station, Bucky kept a tight grip on Liam's hand.

"Can we still go to the park?" Liam asked.

Bucky nodded, "Sure. You were really great on the train."

It was only 5:30. Bucky figured if Liam would tire himself out at the park they could both get a good night's sleep.

And maybe Bucky would be able to sort out his feelings for Carter with a clear mind.

A/N: Hey guys! I did it! I got a chapter up in a week. I like this chapter too. So I hope you all enjoy it and leave me some reviews =)

This story will have probably one or two more chapters to it, and then I have ideas for about three or four more stories in this 'verse.

I'd love, love, love to hear your thoughts, so drop me a review!


	11. Chapter 11

Liam got tired of the park quickly. He was swinging listlessly on a swing when Bucky decided they might as well go home. 

"What's wrong, pal?" Bucky asked, walking slowly to keep pace with his nephew. 

Liam shrugged, and kicked at a rock. 

Bucky narrowed his eyes; this was a complete 180 from the bouncing kid in the doughnut place. 

"Tired?"

Liam nodded, "Little."

Bucky nodded. It had been a long day. Nightmare. Asthma attack. Trek to Brooklyn. 

"I don't blame you," Bucky said, lifting Liam onto his hip. 

Liam sighed and tucked his face into Bucky's neck. 

"I miss Mommy," he sighed. 

"She'll be home tomorrow and we'll go to church and get breakfast," Bucky reminded him. 

"Promise?" Liam asked, rubbing at his eyes. 

"Promise," Bucky said, giving Liam a little squeeze. 

"Okay. Can I have dinner now?" Liam asked, hitting his heel into Bucky's hip. 

"What do you want?"

Liam shrugged as best as he could while being carried, "Dunno."

"How about hamburgers?" Bucky shifted Liam so he could grab his security card from his jeans pocket. 

He showed it to Tony's hand picked (holy crap had that been a process) doorman. 

Mike nodded at him and said, "I know who you are, Barnes. Don't have to keep showing me the card."

Bucky snorted, "And listen to Stark's three hour lecture on security again? Not a chance."

Mike laughed, "I don't blame you, man. Heard Stark's been brutal with the security lately."

Bucky nodded, "And he won't tell us why."

Mike smirked, "Hey, when you make as much money as he does, you can be as weird as you want, right?"

"He's weird alright," Bucky shook his head, "Have a good night."

Mike half waved/half saluted at Bucky retreating back. 

"WAIT!" Liam's voice echoed through the lobby. 

Bucky stopped dead in his tracks, "What? What is it?"

"Mr. Mike didn't look at my card!" Liam squirmed and dropped to the floor. 

He ran up to the front desk and reached his little hand up to the edge. 

Bucky rolled his eyes and pulled out his wallet. He extracted Liam's security card and handed it to him. 

Liam slid the piece of plastic over the counter, "It's me, Mr. Mike! Liam Bucky Rogers!"

Mike smiled, "Thank you, Liam. You're good to go."

Liam grinned happily and took his security card, handing it back to Bucky before running forward to smack the elevator button. 

Bucky jogged to catch up to the elevator before the door shut. 

"You know your middle name is Buchanan, right?" Bucky said as the elevator moved. 

Liam looked up, curious, "Daddy said my middle name is the same as your name. You're Uncle Bucky. So my middle name is Bucky!"

Bucky smiled to himself, feeling happy; what a change from when Liam had been born and Bucky had gotten mad at Steve for naming the kid after him. 

"Alright, bud. Whatever you say," Bucky said, smiling as he held open the elevator door so Liam could get out.   
\-------

Liam passed out on the couch in front of a Disney movie an hour or two later. 

He was face down on the couch, snoring, drooling and clutching his Hulk action figure. 

Bucky draped a blanket over his back, and decided to move him in a little bit. 

While he was cleaning up (read:loading the dishwasher), Bucky's phone buzzed. 

~~sorry about Tim. He had a rough week~~~

Bucky scowled at the message. Tim was going to have a rough life if Bucky saw him again. 

Another message came from Carter. 

~~~he's usually much more polite. And Liam wasn't bothering us at all~~~

Somehow Bucky doubted that. Tim looked very bothered by Liam's presence and that pissed Bucky off even more.

He figured he should reply before too much time passed. 

~it's fine. Don't worry about it~

Bucky was sure his message sounded clipped, but there was no way he could tell Carter what he really thought of her boyfriend. 

Bucky sat on the couch and stroked Liam's back while flipping channels. 

Carter's next message took longer to come. 

~~~um...ok. But I do worry. I don't want Liam thinking he did something wrong.~~~

Bucky sighed. 

~he's fine. Didn't even realize he was intruding~

Bucky sent the message before even thinking about it. 

Carter's message took even longer to come through and was short and clipped. 

~~~he wasn't intruding.~~~

Bucky frowned as he studied the screen. 

There was really no way to respond to that. 

Bucky desperately wanted to tell her to drop Tim, to come to the Tower, to let him take her out. 

But he wasn't about to do that. Not when he was trying to figure out his life and his feelings. 

Angry with himself, Bucky dropped his phone to the coffee table. He would think about Carter tomorrow. 

Bucky flipped to a classic movie station, and ended up falling asleep next to Liam on the couch.   
\----

Liam woke Bucky up early the next morning. 

"Mommy's comin' home!" Liam shook Bucky's shoulder. 

Bucky blinked and looked at Liam tiredly, "Right. Your mom and dad'll be home today."

"And we're goin' to breakfast and the big church!" Liam bounced on the couch. 

Bucky cursed under his breath. He had forgotten all about the morning mass. 

He turned his head and cracked his neck, "Okay, kid. Let's get ready."

Liam scrambled off the couch, hit his leg into the coffee table, crashed into the wall and then finally made it to the bathroom. 

Bucky shook his head watching Liam's journey. The kid was a mess. 

A quick look at the clock on the stove showed Bucky that there was no way they were making the 9:15 mass. 

"10 o'clock it is," Bucky muttered, heading for the bathroom. 

He ruffled Liam's hair while the kid brushed his teeth. 

"Gross, pal," Bucky shook his hand in the air, "How did you get ice cream in your hair?"

Liam shrugged, and spoke through a mouthful of Spongebob Squarepants toothpaste, "Maybe my head got stuck in the carton?"

Bucky shook his head, "Yeah, that was it. Into the shower, man. Can't go to church with ice cream hair."

Liam spit his toothpaste into the sink and stripped down to his underpants, "I wanna get waffles when we go for breakfast, with s'rup!"

Bucky nodded, "Sure, just wash up."

Bucky brushed his teeth, shaved and gelled back his hair while Liam soaped up in the shower. 

"Hey!" Liam called through the open shower door, "This sh'poo smells good!"

"It's probably your mom's," Bucky said, parting his hair carefully. 

"That's why Mommy smells so good!" Liam laughed, filling him mouth with water and spitting it through his teeth. 

Bucky turned to hand Liam a towel and was hit with a face-full of water. 

"Liam!" Bucky sputtered, wiping his face. 

Liam tried and failed to smother a smile, "I'm a fountain!"

"Yeah, the fountain's gotta get turned off right now," Bucky shut the water off and wrapped a towel around Liam's skinny shoulders. 

"Getting dressed, getting dressed," Liam sang as Bucky frog marched him into his room. 

Liam wiggled into his clothes as Bucky handed them over. His shirt ended up buttoned crookedly, but at least he had zipped his pants without catching himself. 

"Tie or no tie?" Bucky asked. 

"Tie!" Liam shouted, kicking his foot into the air. 

Bucky looped the sailboat print fabric around Liam's neck and tied a knot. 

"Will you watch TV while I get dressed?"

Liam nodded, "But can my hair look like yours?"

Bucky caught a glimpse of the way he had combed his hair in the mirror. In that instant he looked exactly like his pre-HYDRA self. 

"Yeah, kid. I can fix your hair like mine."  
\-----


	12. Chapter 12

Liam saw Steve and Kit before Bucky did.

Bucky had a light grip on Liam's shoulder as they shuffled back towards their pew. A gaggle of older women were in front of them, talking loudly and waving their hands around.

Bucky dodged, one of the flapping arms narrowly missing his head.

"Oh geez. We gotta get out of here," Bucky muttered inhaling a large waft of Chanel No. 5.

Liam nodded, bouncing from foot to foot, "Can I get another 'munion cracker?"

Bucky scrunched up his face, "Really? Those wafers are disgusting."

Liam looked offended, "I think they're yummy."

"Okay," Bucky drew out the word slowly, "But that was the last communion until next week. We're going for breakfast now anyway."

Bucky wedged his way in between an older couple, dragging Liam with him.

As soon as they got to the outside steps of the church, Liam broke away from Bucky and ran full-tilt down the steps.

"MOMMY!" He screamed, throwing his body against Kit's legs.

Kit knelt down and hugged Liam tightly, "Oh I missed you, my little boy!"

Liam grunted, "Not little, mommy! I'm a big boy."

Kit laughed, "Right, I'm sorry."

Bucky caught Steve's eye over Kit's head and they shared a grin.

"Welcome home, jerk," Bucky laughed, clasping hands with Steve and then hugging him.

Steve grinned, "It's great to be back."

Kit stood up and went to lift Liam onto her hip, but Steve caught sight of her and dropped his hand to her shoulder.

"Babe..." He warned, unable to keep the smile off of his face.

Kit sighed, "Right. No lifting anything heavier than a toaster."

She shot a wry grin at Bucky, "I'm assuming you know about Baby #2? Since we all know Steve can barely keep a secret."

Bucky laughed, "I do know. But it was big brother to be that let the beans spill."

Liam looked up at the mention of a big brother, and grinned, even though he had no idea what they were talking about.

Steve poked a finger into Kit's side, "I resent the fact that you think I can't keep a secret. I know plenty of things that I don't tell people."

Now both Kit and Bucky looked at Steve, completely interested in what he knew.

Steve snorted, "And I'm not telling you two."

Kit laughed, “And I was so looking forward to finding out all of Steve Roger’s deep dark secrets.”

Steve wrapped an arm around her shoulder, “You know all the important ones, doll.”

Bucky stuck his finger in his mouth and made a gagging noise, “Wow, you two are just so sickly sweet, aren’t you? But let’s get a move on. Liam and I are hungry. Right, little man?”

He nudged Liam in the back, and Liam nodded, “Hungry! I’m so, so starving. Uncle Bucky wouldn’t let me have another cracker.”

Kit looked up at Bucky, “You’re not feeding my son?”

Bucky would’ve been offended had she not been smiling, “He likes those crappy communion wafers.”

Steve frowned, “Ugh, I think they’re still using wafers from the 40s.”

“What do you say to breakfast, Liam?” Kit asked, ruffling Liam’s hair.

Liam nodded eagerly, and whooped with glee when Steve lifted him up into the air and settled him onto his hip.

“Where should we go?” Steve asked, tickling Liam’s sides.

Liam giggled and thought for a minute before shouting, “ ‘Dipity’s!”

The adults laughed.  
“Serendipity’s it is,” Steve proclaimed, leading the group down the steps and up the block.  
\-----  
“So tell us all about your weekend with Uncle Bucky,” Kit said, squeezing some hand sanitizer into Liam’s hands.

Liam laughed, “We had so, so, so much fun, Mommy! Uncle Bucky is funny!”

Steve grinned, and loosened his tie, “Yeah? Uncle Bucky is funny? News to me.”

Bucky rolled his eyes, “You’re just jealous that your kid thinks I’m funnier than you,” he shrugged off his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves.

Steve kicked at the leg of Bucky’s chair, and Bucky retaliated by punching Steve in the arm.

Kit laughed, “Children, children, behave. We’re in public.”

Steve leaned over and kissed her cheek, “We’ll never behave.”

Bucky leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, “I have to agree with the Captain here. Behaving just isn’t something we learned.”

“Idiots,” she muttered affectionately, flipping open the menu.

“Idiots,” Liam laughed, holding his own kids menu upside-down.

Bucky’s mouth dropped open, “I thought we were on the same side, kid? You turning against me?”

Liam laughed, loving all of the attention he was getting, “No! I love you!”

“Good to hear,” Bucky leaned back in his chair, smiling.

“So what did you and Uncle Bucky do this weekend?” Steve brought Liam’s attention back to Kit’s original question.

Liam fiddled with the little cardboard box of crayons the hostess had given him, “Lots of stuff, Daddy. Uncle Bucky’s fun.”

He succeeded in getting the crayons out of the box and started scribbling on his paper mat.

“He maded me cakes in the morning,” Liam said while coloring, “They tasteded like Mommy’s.”

Kit looked at Bucky over her menu, “So the pancakes weren’t too hard to handle?”

Bucky turned up one corner of his mouth in a wry smirk, “After you fight Nazis, Kit, pancakes are nothing.”

Kit rolled her eyes, “Of course. I should’ve known you’d play the Nazi card.”

Steve jumped to Bucky’s defense, “Hey, we suffered through the 40s for a reason. Playing the Nazi card is only one of them.”

Liam threw a crayon at Steve, “Are we eating soon?”

Steve snatched the crayon out of the air, “Liam, that wasn’t nice. We don’t throw crayons in restaurants. And what do you want to eat?”

“Can I have pizza? Like on movie night?” Liam asked, leaning his chin onto his hand.

“They don’t have pizza here, buddy,” Kit said sympathetically, “Do you want a hamburger?”

Liam chewed on his lip, “Uncle Bucky, are you gonna have a hamburger?”

Bucky raised an eyebrow, “Do you want me to get a hamburger?”

Liam nodded, “And Daddy too! We match!”

Kit grinned, “My three matching men. How cute.”  
\-------  
The poor waitress was practically buckling under the weight of all the food they had ordered.

Steve immediately jumped up and easily transferred the oversized tray to his hand.

The young waitress smiled, “Thanks, Captain.”

Steve smiled back, “My pleasure,” he paused to read her nametag, “Amy.”

After settling the dishes on the table, Amy blushed, asked them if they needed anything else and left.

“That’s our Steve Rogers,” Bucky teased, “Making teenage girls blush with his heroics.”

Steve scowled at his best friend, “It’s called being a decent human being, Barnes.”

Bucky laughed, “Decent my as--,” he cast a look at Liam, “Butt. You used to pick fights with anything that moved.”

Kit rested her chin in the palm of her hand, “Ooh, do tell. Because the Steve Rogers I married gets mad when I flip off other drivers on the road.”

“Yeah! When you do it in areas where someone could have a gun and very easily shoot you, I get mad,” Steve defended himself.

Kit snatched a French fry from Steve’s plate, “I know, baby. You’re just being protective, and I love you for it.”

Liam tugged on Kit’s sleeve, “Mommy, cut my burger?”

“Yes, baby,” Kit kissed the top of Liam’s head, brushing his bangs to the side, “Bucky?”

“Hmm?” Bucky grunted, mouth full of hamburger.

“What’s this bruise on his head?” Kit moved her fingers lightly over the black and blue mark.

Bucky winced and swallowed his bite, “Yeah, he ran into a few walls over the course of the weekend. He’s a little banged up.”

“I’m banged up, Mommy,” Liam parroted.

Kit sighed, “I can see that, honey. It looks like your booboos from falling off the swing are better though.”

Liam kicked his feet against his chair, “I forgotted that I flyed off the swing.”

Bucky grumbled under his breath, “I didn’t.”

“Maybe we’ll leave the flying to Uncle Sam and Uncle Thor?” Steve suggested, dragging a few fries through ketchup.

“Can I get a puppy?” Liam asked a minute later, shoving cut up pieces of hamburger into his mouth.

Kit choked on her drink, and Bucky tapped her on the back.

“What was that?” Kit asked, staring intently at her son.  
“I wanna puppy,” Liam mumbled through a mouthful of food, “Can we get a Bart puppy?”

Kit and Steve shared a look over Liam's head. 

"What's a 'Bart puppy'?" Steve asked, wiping a glop of ketchup from Liam's shirt. 

Bucky paused. Was he going to have to explain about Carter, or would Liam do the honors?

Liam explained, "Bart is the bestest dog ever! He lives with Carter. Carter's a girl even though she has a boy name! And Carter and Uncle Bucky kissed because she's pretty like Mommy!"

Liam giggled all through his monologue, handing Steve French fries as he spoke. 

Steve piled the gifted fries on his plate and looked at Liam, "Carter and Uncle Bucky kissed?"

Liam nodded, grabbing his sippy cup of milk and taking a long swallow. 

"Carter is pretty and Uncle Bucky kisseded her like you kiss Mommy."

Kit's eyes widened and she swung her head to look at Bucky, "You did?"

Bucky shook his head. 

"No!" He proclaimed emphatically, "Carter is just a woman we met. We talked, the kid played with her dog. Bart. Liam suggested I kiss her, but I definitely didn't."

Steve looked at Bucky, a thoughtful look on his face. Until Liam hit the side of his head with a fry. 

Steve jolted away from his thoughts and dug his fingers into Liam's side, tickling him, "What did we say about throwing food? Huh?"

Liam shrieked with joy, "No, Daddy! No! No more!"

Bucky watched his best friend interact with his son, barely containing his jealousy. He wanted that, he wanted it desperately. 

Kit's gaze drifted from Steve and Liam to Bucky. 

She tapped gently on the back of Bucky's hand, "I'm not pretending to know what happened, but if there's any sort of.... feeling behind--"

Bucky cut her off with a smile, "Thanks, Kit. I'm working it out."

Kit nodded, "Good. Because Liam and the new baby are going to need cousins."

Bucky would have choked on air if Kit had said something like that just a few weeks ago, but today he only grinned. 

"Hey, kid," Bucky said, "Tell your mom and dad what you saw at the museum."

Liam looked up from the pile he was making with his lettuce, eyes bright, "Oh yeah! Daddy we saw the coolest thing!"

Steve chewed on his burger and mumbled around the mouthful, "Really, pal? What'd you see?"

"DINOSAURS!" Liam shouted at the top of his lungs, causing the other people in the restaurant to stop and turn. 

Kit's eyes went wide, and she shushed her son, "Inside voices, buddy!"

Steve shot apologetic looks at the people at the neighboring tables, while trying to smother a laugh. 

"Sorry," Liam stage whispered, "Me and Uncle Bucky saw the hugest dinosaurs! They could smush you, Daddy!"

Steve grinned, "Smush me, huh? Did you see a T-Rex?"

Liam bounced in his seat, "Yeah, yeah, yeah! And I almost climbeded it!"

Kit pinched his arm, "You almost climbed it." 

Her correction flew over Liam's head. 

"Yeah, I climbeded it!"

Bucky snorted, "Yeah, and then we would've had museum security after us."

Steve laughed, "Better museum security than Mickey O'Rourke in Brooklyn."

Bucky let out an unexpected burst of laughter, "Oh shit, Mickey. He was a real piece of work. And of course you couldn't stay away from a fight with him."

Steve shrugged, "What was I supposed to do when he bullied Annie Mulligan?"

"Run away?" Bucky laughed, "You were barely a hundred pounds. How many fights with him did I bail you out of?"

Steve pretended to tick them off on his fingers, before snorting, "Too many to count."

Kit watched their banter with a soft smile on her face. Steve was a better version of himself when Bucky was around, and she loved it.   
\---  
"Hey, by the way," Bucky said as they waited for their frozen hot chocolates, "Did you know they made a movie about us?"

Steve looked up from his phone, slightly bewildered looking, and said “A movie?"

Bucky nodded, "And honest to God movie."

"Daddy's in a movie!" Liam said very seriously, coloring in a star that Kit had drawn. 

"How did that never come up in my pop culture immersion?" Steve wondered. 

Bucky shrugged, "Stark seemed pretty surprised about it. I don't think he knew it existed."

"Well, it was bound to happen," Steve muttered, "Who played me?"

"Cary Grant," Kit supplied, and then explained when Steve and Bucky looked at her, "What? My granddad likes old movies. I might've watched your movie once."

"Why am I not surprised?" Steve laughed, "Was it any good?"

Kit shrugged, "Well, from an outsiders point of view it was mildly entertaining. I'm sure Bucky can speak to the historical accuracy."

"Yeah, there was next to none," Bucky laughed, "Unless of course I had an illicit affair with Peggy Carter."

Steve winced, "Hollywood crap, right?"

"Crap!" Liam parroted, reaching for his drink. 

Kit narrowed her eyes at Steve, "Thank you. He'll be mimicking that for weeks now."

Steve lifted a shoulder, "I'm surprised he hasn't picked up worse yet."

Their waitress, Amy, came up to the table a minute later, a platter loaded down with four frozen hot chocolates in her hand. 

Kit and Bucky held up their hands when she asked who got the peanut butter ones. 

"You two are messing with a classic," Steve sighed, mock disappointed. 

"Your haircut is messing with a classic, Captain," Bucky laughed, pointing out Steve's new haircut. 

"I loooovvveee my choc'lte," Liam grinned, sucking up the frozen drink quickly. 

Kit laughed, "Baby, slow down. You're going to---"

"Owwww, my head!" Liam cried out. 

"Get a brain freeze," Kit finished. 

"Mommmyyyy, it hurts," Liam cried, dropping his head to the table. 

Kit rubbed his back gently, "Press your tongue to the top of your mouth."

Liam only ended up sticking his tongue out of his mouth, but a minute later the pain passed and he was drinking the frozen dessert again.   
\----  
"Can I look at the toys?" Liam asked a few minutes later, interrupting Kit's story about her cousin's dog getting into the dessert at the funeral. 

"I'll take you, pal," Steve pushed away from the table and lifting Liam out of the child seat. 

Liam gripped onto Steve's pant leg and walked towards the display of odd trinkets at the front of the store. 

Kit watched them go, intermittently stirring and sipping on her melting drink. 

"How was he, really?" she asked suddenly. 

"He was great," Bucky said, and then when Kit gave him a skeptical look, "Honestly!"

Kit sighed and craned her neck to watch Steve and Liam interact, "It's just.... sometimes I worry about him. He's around so much. Combat training, iron suits, jet pack wings, super soldiers...and he's not always around kids his age. Yes, he's in preschool. But for the majority of his time he's with us."

"And he's just fine," Bucky said, "Liam's the happiest, smartest kid I know."

Kit smiled, "You don't have that much to compare to."

Bucky shook his head, "Doesn't matter. I'd still think the same thing."

Kit rested her chin in her palm, sipping carefully on her drink, "You do think he'll outgrow the asthma and everything else, right?"

Bucky frowned, they'd all discussed Liam's health at length and Bruce had told them, with full confidence, that Liam would outgrow it all. Bucky wondered why Kit was worrying about it now. 

"You know he will, Kit. It's just a matter of time and once Steve's modified genes kick in, the kid will be unstoppable," Bucky paused and then grinned, "He's already pretty unstoppable."

"He wear you out?" Kit laughed.

"Not that I'm willing to admit. But I have to say, you're amazing for keeping up with him with no superpowers," Bucky grinned. 

"Thanks," Kit looked down at the table, blushing, "Sometimes I just really don't think I'm doing a good job with him."

"He loves you two. You're doing a great job," Bucky paused, debating whether or not to mention Liam's asthma attack. 

He decided that he should probably mention it, "This morning, or maybe really late last night, I wasn't looking at the clock, Liam woke me up."

"Another pigeon?" Kit laughed. 

Bucky winced, "I wish. He had a nightmare, wouldn't tell me about what, and worked himself into a pretty rough asthma attack."

Kit's face immediately fell, "Oh, my baby. How long did it last?"

Bucky shrugged, "I'm not sure. I helped him with the inhaler, but he was kind of wiped and zoned out in my arms for a long time. He slept for a long time in the morning though."

Kit rubbed a hand over her eyes, "Well, he seems okay. I wish I had been there though. When I miss things like that, I feel like a mom failure."

Liam came running up to Kit before Bucky could say anything. 

"MOMMY! Daddy said I get a train!" Liam brandished a toy train in the air, excitedly climbing up onto Kit's lap. 

Kit discretely wiped tears from her eyes as Liam cuddled up against her chest. She bent her head towards his and whispered to him. 

"Like twins those two," Steve said coming up behind Bucky, and gesturing to the matching blonde heads. 

"He's got a lot of you in him," Bucky commented, "Scrappy, easily excitable."

"I'm going to pay," Steve announced, "Do you guys want to get started, or wait for me?"

Kit looked down at Liam, running his new toy train up and down her thigh, "I think we'll get a start. We'll take the straight route back, so you can find us."

Steve nodded, and then grabbed Bucky's forearm, "Stay back?"

Bucky raised and eyebrow, but nodded. 

Kit gave her husband a look as she wrestled Liam into his blazer. 

"See you in a minute," Steve said, pressing a kiss to the top of Kit's head. 

"Come on, Liam," Kit held out her hand for Liam to grab. 

They left Serendipity’s to the sound of Liam exclaiming that he couldn't wait to show Aunt Nat and Uncle Bruce his new train.   
\-----

Steve didn't say anything for a minute. 

"Don't tell me you left your wallet behind," Bucky laughed, "Constantly covering your ass."

"Nah, I have my wallet," Steve said, "I just wanted to..."

Bucky raised his eyebrow again, "You're being weird."

"Did you know that you've been calling Kit...well, Kit?" Steve blurted, the beginnings of a smile forming on his face. 

Bucky thought about it, "I guess you're right. I hadn't noticed."

"I know," Steve nodded, "I think this weekend was good for you."

Bucky agreed, "You're probably right."

Steve fished his wallet from his pocket and handed his credit card to the woman at the cash register. 

"I know that these past few years haven't been easy on you, Buck," Steve frowned, signing his name on the receipt and shoving his credit card back into his wallet. 

"Understatement of the century," Bucky said wryly. 

"But you've made a shit ton of progress ever since you joined us," Steve held open the door and Bucky ducked under his outstretched arm. 

"You gonna put that on my progress report to Coulson?" Bucky snarked. 

"I might," Steve laughed, "But in all honesty, I'm proud of you, Buck."

Bucky laughed, "Nice to hear. It was a good weekend."

"Liam really love you. He wouldn't stop talking about how you let him have a hot dog while we were looking at the toys back there," Steve laughed, "And to think just four years ago you thought you were a bad influence."

"I'm not the greatest influence," Bucky said, "When you think about it, none of us are great influences. Not even you, Mr. I-jump-out-of-plane-with-no-parachute."

"I'm not even going to try and defend myself on that one," Steve grinned, "I'll lose."

"Damn right you will," Bucky shook his head, "I can't believe that you think jumping out of a plane is a good idea. Well, I can believe it, you're that stupid."

Steve's hand shot out to punch Bucky on the shoulder, "Jerk. I'm trying to be nice here."

Bucky ran a hand through his hair, mildly uncomfortable with Steve trying to be nice. 

"Hey and about this whole Carter thing," Steve started. 

"There's nothing there," Bucky said automatically. 

Steve scoffed, "I saw the look on your face when Liam mentioned her. I don't know what's going on there, but don't screw it up for yourself."

Bucky was quiet, thinking about Carter and that ass, Tim. 

"You think I'm ready to drag someone into this mess?" Bucky asked, doubt creeping into his voice. 

"If she's the right girl, nothing'll scare her off," Steve said.

Bucky nodded, falling a step or two behind Steve as they caught up to Kit and Liam. 

Steve leaned forward and swung Liam up onto his shoulders. Kit smiled and looped her arm around Steve's waist, letting her fingers rest gently against his hip bone. 

Would Carter fit in with this group?

Bucky's phone buzzed. 

~Some movie's playing on TCM...Paul Newman's much cuter than you are~

He laughed. If the time ever came, Carter would fit right in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey guys! So sorry that I didn't update on Sunday. This chapter was a real pain to get out. I'm not entirely sure that I like it, but it does what I want it to. One more chapter for this story, and then I have a bunch of other stories planned for this universe, so there's a lot more of Liam to look forward to.
> 
> I did write another story for 4th of July, "Sparks Fly." That one's about Steve's first birthday in a relationship with Kit. So I'd love it if you guys checked that one out and dropped me a review =)
> 
> The next chapter is already formed in my head, so hopefully I'll get that posted soon ^_^


	13. Chapter 13

~~~3 WEEKS LATER~~~

"What's the big rush?" Kit sighed from the couch.

Steve shrugged, "No idea. Bruce and Tony called a team meeting."

Kit rolled back onto her side and closed her eyes, "Well, I'm not a member of the team. You and Bucky can tell me what the meeting was all about later."

Bucky came into the living room, Liam riding on his shoulders, "Other team."

Kit groaned, "The whole family? Ooh this better be important."

Steve extended his hand and pulled Kit to her feet, "I'm sorry, doll. I know you're feeling like crap."

Liam gripped onto Bucky's hair and leaned forward, "Mommy? You're sick?"

Kit smiled, "No, buddy. I'm okay. Sometimes the baby makes mommy's tummy hurt."

"Oh," Liam said, nudging his heel into Bucky's chest, "Giddy up."

Bucky grinned and walked to the front door, "Duck or your head is gonna come off."

Liam giggled maniacally, but bent over as Bucky headed through the door.

Kit yawned and leaned her body against Steve's, "I just really want a nap."

"Bruce said he's making curry," Steve said, trying to bribe her into a better mood.

Kit's eye brightened, "Curry? You promise?"

But before Steve could answer, she frowned, "It doesn't matter, anything spicy makes me vomit."

Steve nodded, "Bruce even said he'd make it a little milder for you."

"I knew Bruce was my favorite for a reason," she laughed, pulling the door shut behind them.

"This isn't spicy enough," Natasha complained, holding the bottle of curry spices over the pot.

Bruce snatched the bottle from her hands, "This is the milder curry. That pot is the spicy curry."

Natasha grinned, dipping her spoon into the other pot and proclaiming it just spicy enough.

"So what's this big news, Banner?" Clint called from the couch.

"Yeah, last time you made us Indian food was to, well that was the time you accidentally busted up Tony's latest invention," Bucky supplied from his perch on the kitchen counter.

Bruce and Betty shared a look.

"We're waiting until Tony and Pepper get back," Betty laughed, "So stop asking."

"Oh, Bruce, am I doing this right?" Jane asked, delicately holding up a charred piece of naan bread, "I don't think I quite have the hang of it."

Bruce winced and pulled the burned dough from Jane's hand, "Yeah this isn't exactly right."

"It's a good thing I thought to buy pre-made naan," Tony said, breezing through the open door.

Betty took the package and slid the bread onto a platter before slicing it into triangles.

"Good thinking, Stark," Bucky commented, snatching a piece of the Indian bread as Kit passed him with the platter.

"Well," Tony proclaimed, patting Jane on the shoulder, "Our resident astrophysicist is a genius at the stars, but uh, her cooking skills are worse than mine."

"And he once took three hours to make an omelet," Pepper laughed, squeezing Tony's arm.

Jane narrowed her eyes, but smiled as she said, "Even I can manage an omelet in under twenty minutes."

"What's an 'melet?" Liam asked, looking up from the action figure battle her was waging on the floor with Steve.

"It's just eggs with vegetables in it, bud," Steve said, lounging back on his elbows.

Liam's nose crinkled up, "Ew, vegbatles."

"That's how I feel about the media," Tony laughed.

Bruce called over the general noise in the room, "If we set the table we can eat and make our announcement."

Clint whooped and grabbed the pot of spicy curry.

Bruce pointed, "Kit, that one's mild, for you and Liam, since I know you can't handle spicy things right now."

Kit grinned and let out a happy shout before kissing Bruce on the cheek, "Bruce Banner, you are a saint!"

Bruce smiled, a little embarrassed, "It's not a problem."

Kit turned to Betty, "Seriously, you lucked out with this one."

Betty rubbed her hand over Bruce's back, "Oh I know."

She was grinning, and looked happier than ever.

Bruce too.

Kit wondered what their announcement would be.

"Oh god, I can't eat any more," Clint groaned, leaning back in his chair, "Pass the naan, Barnes."

Bucky raised an eyebrow, but passed over the practically empty tray of bread.

Natasha rested her head on his shoulder, "Ease up, bird boy. I'm not rolling you to our floor."

"Uncle Bird Boy!" Liam shrieked, laughing like that was the funniest thing he'd heard in his four years of life.

Clint scowled as they all laughed, "Yeah, funny kid. At least I don't look like Garfield."

And he did. The curry sauce had covered the entire lower half of Liam's face and the powders were staining his face orange.

Kit sighed and dipped a napkin into her water glass.

She rubbed at his face while he pulled away; agitated that Kit was trying to clean him up.

"Mommy! Stop!" He exclaimed, pushing her hands away.

Kit looked at Steve, "Clean him up."

"We can wait until later," Steve laughed, "It's not hurting him."

Kit wrinkled her nose, but didn't say anything.

Liam's eyebrows scrunched his eyebrows together, "Who's Gafield?"

"He's a cartoon cat," Steve explained, "He eats a lot of lasagna."

Liam grinned, "I like lasna. And I like kitties."

Betty looked at Bruce and when he nodded, she said, "How would you feel about a cousin?"

Betty's question went right over Liam's head, but everyone else understood the implication behind it.

Kit and Pepper let out matching screams of joy, while Natasha whistled through her teeth. Jane clapped and bounced in her seat.

Tony jumped up and ran to the wine cabinet (one had been installed on every floor, just in case Tony had a desire for a drink) and cracked open a bottle of Dom Perignon.

Thor jumped up and captured Bruce and Betty in a giant hug, shouting about the "joyous occasion that I will ask the All Father to bless!"

Clint let out another loud whoop, whistling to match Natasha, "I have fireworks that I've been wanting to set off and here's the perfect opportunity!"

"NO!" Steve and Natasha shouted, remembering Clint's last foray into illegal explosives.

Clint pouted, but clapped Bruce on the shoulder.

Liam tugged on the hem of Bucky's shirt when his uncle jumped up to congratulate Bruce and Betty.

Bucky sunk back into his seat, "What's up?"

Liam looked vaguely terrified of the raucous noise happening around him, "What's goin' on?"

Bucky grinned, "Aunt Betty and Uncle Bruce are getting a kid."

"Like me?" Liam asked, pointing to himself.

"If they're lucky," Bucky laughed, lifting Liam from his seat and setting him onto the floor.

Tony was passing around flutes of champagne, and Liam ducked around his legs to launch himself at Betty's knees.

"Aunt Betty!" Liam gained her attention by shouting and Betty kneeled down to get eye to eye with the little boy.

"Are you excited?" She asked, smiling happily.

Liam lifted one shoulder in a shrug, "I don't know. Are you getting another me?"

Betty laughed and pulled Liam close to her in a hug, "No one could be you, Liam. But we are getting a little boy for you to be friends with."

"I'm so glad this finally happened!" Kit sighed, "You guys really deserve this."

She set her glass of ginger ale on the counter and rested her hand on her growing stomach.

"When did you find out it was official?" Steve asked.

Bruce laughed, "Last night. We couldn't wait to tell everyone."

Natasha piped up, "You should've told us last night!"

She kept her (full) champagne flute in her hands, twisting it every once in a while. She didn't want to steamroll Bruce and Betty's news with her's and Clint's.

There were still another few weeks before she hit the second trimester, they could make an announcement then.

Bruce grinned sheepishly, and the edges of his ears went a little pink.

Tony shouted and laughed, "Aha! They didn't tell us last night, my dear Mrs. Barton, because they were having their own little celebration. Or should I say, big celebration?"

Pepper groaned and shook her head, "Leave them alone, Tony."

Tony pressed a kiss to her cheek, "I'm just being me, Pep."

"How old is he?" Jane asked, looking happy for her friends, but sad at the same time. She rested a hand on Thor's arm, and he rubbed a hand over her back.

Betty grinned, bouncing Liam on her lap, "His name is Michael, and he's six."

"Just the right age to be friends with this one," Steve laughed, handing over the Hulk action figure.

"When's he coming?" Bucky asked, pouring more champagne for everyone.

"A week and a half," Bruce answered, "We have a lot to do."

"I think I speak for all of us when I say that we'll help," Bucky smiled.

This set off a round of nodding heads and agreements that "of course we'll help!"

"And," Bucky added, thinking of Carter, "I know a place where he can start kindergarten."

Tony opened his mouth to comment, but Pepper dug an elbow into his side.

They laughed and talked and planned for the arrival of Michael Banner as the night wore on.

"I wonder what he'll be like?" Natasha said aloud, thinking about her own baby and what he or she might grow up to be like. Clint, always attuned to the subtleties in Natasha's words, interlocked his fingers with hers.

Kit sighed, "Probably normal in the beginning and then he'll become exponentially crazier as time goes on. Just like me when I joined this group of weirdoes."

Steve tightened his grip on her without moving Liam (asleep across both of their laps), "We love weirdoes around here. Why do you think we let Tony join?"

Tony opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again, "Okay, a few years ago I might've argued with that. But since I've been spending my nights building a baby sized Iron Man suit, I'm going to have to agree with you."

"Baby sized suit?" Bucky asked.

Tony's eye went wide, "Oh shit. Sorry, Pep."

"Why is he apologizing?" Thor asked.

Pepper chewed on her lip, "Because we have an announcement too, but we didn't want to make it tonight and ruin your announcement."

Betty waved her hand, "Oh no, tell us! We don't mind."

"Well, in about three months, there's going to be Stark spawn screaming at all hours of the night," Tony grinned, his eyes lighting up.

A roar of excitement rippled through the living room.

"A baby!" Kit exclaimed, tears forming in her eyes, "Oh, I'm sorry. I don't know why…"

Bucky tossed over a tissue box, and Steve held it while Kit blew her nose.

"Can I have one?" Pepper asked, her voice nasal from held back tears. She accepted the box with a "thank you."

Tony rubbed her back.

"Well, this is an exciting day," Steve grinned, "Babies and kids all at once."

Bucky nudged Liam's foot, "This guy's going to have more friends than he knows what to do with."

Betty leaned forward, elbows resting on knees, "Tell us everything."

Natasha smirked, "Yeah, we didn't even know anything was going on!"

"That was kind of the point, nosy," Tony smirked, "I like some things in my life to be private."

"You'd never know," Bucky muttered to Steve, causing his best friend to laugh.

"The first two attempts didn't take," Pepper explained, "So we wanted to keep this one a secret, just in case."

"That's a very smart idea," Jane said.

"And it did work, and now our surrogate, Kristen, is into the sixth month, and in three more months, we'll be having a baby," Pepper grinned, "I can't believe this is happening."

Pepper continued to give the women the details behind the surrogacy.

Bucky tuned out.

Four kids coming in just a few months.

He shifted and grabbed his phone from his pocket.

~I'm not exactly normal…but would you want to grab coffee sometime?~

The response came a few minutes later.

~~Normal's overrated.~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: That's all she wrote folks! Uncle Bucky's (reluctant) Babysitting Service has come to a close. As you can see, a lot of things are going to be happening in Avengers Tower, and I will be writing about a lot of it.
> 
> I think the next thing I'll be working on is a oneshot (with potential for more)of Steve asking Kit's dad for permission to marry her. You can meet Kit's mom and dad in my oneshot "Sparks Fly"
> 
> I may also be working simultaneously on a drabble series of life in the Tower as the kids grow up. I am super open to prompts for that one. So please, send me some either in review on this story or to my inbox on Tumblr (thewintersoldierdisaster)
> 
> I want to thank JuliaAurelia and Singer of Water for being awesome new friends and letting me bounce ideas off of them. I also want to thank all of you who have reviewed on each chapter and left me such wonderful comments.
> 
> This story has really been so much fun to write, which is why I will definitely be continuing in this universe. Keep looking back to my page for new stories about Liam.
> 
> xx


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